


Playing The Part

by ThePunkRanger



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note: Another Note
Genre: (Technically They’re Both Switches But Shh), BDSM, Beyond has PTSD, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Femdom, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping case, Learning to Be Cared For, Mentions of Past A/Beyond, Puppy Play, Semi-Mutual Pining With A Side of Denial, Sub!Beyond, Undercover, dom!Naomi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25043164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePunkRanger/pseuds/ThePunkRanger
Summary: Someone is kidnapping members of Southern California’s BDSM community, and the world’s greatest detective is in the market for a reliable team to go undercover on his behalf.It’s been two years since the arrest of Rue Ryuzaki, the serial killer behind the Los Angeles BB murder case, and Naomi Misora has been happy to live her life under the assumption that she’ll never have to see him again.  Unfortunately, L has other ideas; ones that involve her pretending to be in a Pup/Handler relationship with the murderer she put behind bars.
Relationships: Beyond Birthday/Misora Naomi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love Beyond and Naomi and am obsessed with the idea of Beyond as a bottom to her. So, now I’ve decided to make an AU loosely (very loosely) based off of the episode of Bones that made me stop watching the show. My version is better and my version has Naomi Misora with a strap-on.

“You need me to _what _?”Naomi asked, staring in shock at the man sitting across from her.__

He shrugged, playing a thumb over his lower lip.“Go undercover.This case is becoming more high-profile by the day, and we need feet on the ground.”

Naomi sat back in her chair, stunned into silence.The man across from her was a messenger, sent to collect her so that she once again could assist the world’s greatest detective, L.She supposed it made sense that L would return to people whom he had worked with before, those who had earned his trust.Even so, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was annoyed.Annoyed that she was being pulled out of her unit at the FBI in the middle of a case just so that she could work on another.Annoyed that it would pull her away from the trip that she had planned for next week with her boyfriend to join his family for a tour of the American Northeast.And annoyed that she’d had to destroy her second laptop in two years just to RSVP to the lunch she was currently sat at.

“I’ll have to discuss it with my boyfriend...” she murmured, hoping that it would buy her more time to get her head around this new case.

“No need,” the man said, not looking at her as he stacked coffee creamer, “We’ve already contacted your friend.He didn’t seem happy about it, but he agreed to excuse your absence to his family.”

“Oh.”

“If that’s all of your questions, then I’ll be making my leave.”He stood up slowly, having to unfold himself from the chair that he had been crouched upon like an oversized frog.“You’re set to meet with your partner on Thursday.He’s staying at the Motel6 near LAX, and will meet you there to discuss the specifics of your operation.”

Naomi’s head snapped to attention.“You didn’t say anything about a partner.”

“It’s a necessity for the case.You could hardly go undercover without him.Don’t worry, though, you’ve worked together before, although I understand the circumstances were less than ideal at the time.”Her contact nudged the black duffel bag at her feet with a single toe, “You’ll find everything you need in there, for the both of you.If you need to contact us, please use the number supplied in the bag.”And with that he slouched away, leaving Naomi to sit in stunned silence in the upscale restaurant he had dragged her to.

A waiter tapped her shoulder.“Miss?Will you take the check now?”

—

Naomi sat on her couch, staring at the black duffel bag on her coffee table.She hadn’t opened it since it had been passed to her discreetly under the table, and she could feel an increasing amount of anxiety racking up at the thoughts of what it might contain.If there was one thing she had learned from the LABB case, it was that L was an entity all his own, and she could never hope to figure him out.

The thought of what a man like that would come up with as a disguise for going undercover at a BDSM retreat terrified her.

Steeling herself for whatever horrors may await her, she unzipped the bag.

The first thing she noticed was the hood.It was constructed of sturdy, matte black leather, which had been shaped to mimic the head of a dog, and an extremely cartoony one at that.The ears were floppy and oversized, with the muzzle blocky and just as large, the jaws semi-opened to let a long tongue loll out.A zipper was set at the back to hold it on tightly.

Naomi had seen pup hoods before, but never in person.Though she doubted L had any way of knowing, her college boyfriend had introduced her to the world of BDSM, and all the various off-sets that came with it, making her probably one of the better agents in the FBI to take on this case.Even now, she had to admit that part of her missed taking on the roll of dominant in a relationship.Having her partner dote on her, doing everything she said,  _begging her_.It was something that she was all too aware was out of her current boyfriend’s wheelhouse.So she had put that part of her aside for the time-being, trying to learn how “normal” people behaved in relationships.

L’s messenger had said that this bag contained all of the needed credentials and gear that both she and her partner would need for this case, and she desperately hoped that she wasn’t expected to be the one to wear the ridiculous hood in her hands.

Her partner. Supposedly someone she had worked with before.Her stomach turned at the thought of having to play the part of submissive to someone from her own department.No, that was stupid.If it was someone she worked with daily, then there would be no need for them to meet separately outside of work.L could have just called them both out at the same time.So who was she supposed to be working with?

She placed the hood on the coffee table, going back into the bag to see what else it held.

A full set of puppy play gear was inside.Paw mitts, collar (a pink leather affair with a metal heart in place of the D-ring), leash, and... a tail plug.A solid rubber, black tail plug.

“God, I hope all of this is new...” she muttered, gingerly placing the tail with the rest of the get-up.

Aside from the gear, she found two lanyards with passes to the retreat, and a pair of fake IDs.

The first ID she took was her own, the same picture from her driver’s license super-imposed onto the credentials for a woman named Shoko Maki.Not a name she would have chosen, but not bad either.Her height, weight, and age (though not birthday) had remained the same.

The second ID...

The second ID was for a man with long, ruffled black hair, not dissimilar to that of the man she had spoken to earlier that day, though to say the two had anything more alike would be lying.The man in the small, grainy picture was scarred, pink lines and splotches crisscrossing his face, some seemingly dangerously close to his eyes, which shined red at the camera.

Naomi stared at the picture.That had to be a camera issue.Red eye was a common enough occurrence in digital photography, though the idea that the DMV would issue an ID with such a glaring problem seemed absurd.But a quick glance at the details of the card proved otherwise.His eye color was recorded as red.And his age as twenty. 

The name on the card read Brendan Brooks. 

B.B.

Like Believe Bridesmaid.And Backyard Bottomslash. 

Why did he have B.B. as his initials?Surely L would have thought twice about such things after the LABB case.He must have.

Even worse, she had no memory of the man in the photograph.Even L’s contact had been more familiar (she was fairly certain she had kicked him down the stairs once).If she really had worked with him before, what would she do if he remembered her but not the other way around?Naomi had never been great in social situations, and this was looking more and more like she was going to humiliate herself before anyone even tried to put her in a puppy hood.


	2. Chapter 2

Room 413.It was almost too perfect.

Beyond Birthday paced the small room, enjoying the fact that he could at least pretend to be a normal person for the first time in two years.

He still couldn’t entirely believe it.L, the man who had ruined his life, coming to him for help. 

The guards had threatened him with solitary, or sedation, or both, when he’d launched himself at the bulletproof partition in the visiting area.L had some balls to come undisguised to a prison, no doubt filled with people who had been put there by his own hands.

And yet, the world’s greatest detective hadn’t so much as flinched at his actions.Hadn’t blinked, or moved away.Instead, he had simply tilted his head, put a finger to his lips, and smiled.

Gods, B hated that smile.

He’d had to be handcuffed to the chair before he would sit and let L speak, and what the man had said had been... surprising, to say the least.

L wanted him to work a case.

Beyond had laughed when he’d first said it.

_ “What, you couldn’t get any of your little pawns to do it instead?”He’d asked, nails digging into the fabric of the prison jumpsuit. _

_ “On the contrary,” L was holding the phone like it might be contaminated, two fingers gripping the very top, holding it a few inches away from his face, “I’ve arranged to have one of my contacts working with you.I’m sure you’ll remember miss Misora.” _

That was why he was here.Not because L had promised to get him out on parole if he agreed to work for him, like that would ever happen.He was here, in this one bed hotel room close enough to the airport to feel the walls shake at takeoff, because he would be working with Naomi Misora again.

He stopped in front of the open bathroom door, stepping in to look in the mirror, tilting his head from side to side, looking critically at the burn scars on his face.

The bigger scars, the truly nasty ones, had been grafted over, leaving large patches where his skin tone was just a little off, though that was nothing a little makeup couldn’t fix, now that he was out.The smaller ones, those on his face, palms, and... other areas that had been somewhat protected when he’d curled up from the pain, still stood out starkly on his skin. 

He supposed she probably wouldn’t recognize him, between the scars and the lack of makeup to make him look like L.He could play up the angle, pretend that they’d never met before... but then that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn’t it?No, he’d have to face the music and tell her who he was.

Would she flinch away from him, now that he looked like this?Hell, she’d flinched away from him the second they’d met, back in Believe Bridesmaid’s bedroom.Still, the vainer part of him wished that he had some way to make a better impression.After all, she was supposed to be his partner in this, and in more ways than one.

L had to have known it was the only way he’d have agreed to this, being able to work with Naomi again, because dear god did he miss that woman.

Just over one week and he’d been hooked.He’d never given much thought to drugs, or any other form of mind altering substance, but he had a sneaking suspicion that heroin had nothing on the way Naomi Misora had made him feel.

He’d listened to plenty of prisoners speak about those who had landed them behind bars, and so many held those people in contempt, if not all-out hatred, but he’d never been able to join them.Yes, he was in prison.Yes, he had a life sentence.And yes, he was alive.But none of that had made him able to hate the woman who had caused it all.

And now she was late.

Beyond stepped out of the cramped bathroom and glanced at the bedside clock.5:34pm.Naomi Misora was late by four minutes.

He supposed he couldn’t hold it against her too much.Most people weren’t as concerned with punctuality as he was.Still, the waiting was making him jittery.

He was seconds away from climbing the walls out of sheer, pent up anxiety when a knock came from the door.

He must have been staring at it, because before he’d made a move, the person on the other side knocked again.Shaking himself, he strode purposefully toward the door and swung it open.

He’d forgotten just how good she looked.

Naomi Misora was just as he’d last seen her, minus the ash and handgun.She wore jeans, a daring idea in mid-July, and a tank top that was making him uncomfortably aware of her muscular arms.And she was staring at him with open distrust.

“Brendan Brooks, I’m assuming?”She asked, one eyebrow raised as she pushed past him into the hotel room.

Beyond took in what was supposed to be a steadying breath, instead finding his senses overwhelmed by the sweet scent of her shampoo.L had informed him of the alias he was to use for the course of the investigation, but it still felt foreign being spoken aloud.

“That’s Ryuzaki to you, Miss Misora.”He replied, closing the door.

When he turned to look at her once more, she was staring, eyes wide and almost fearful.

“No.” 

The simple word hung in the room.

“Not you. _ Anyone  _ but you.”

“You wound me, Miss Misora,” Beyond replied, putting on a show of feigning hurt, even though her words stung like a whip.“I thought surely you would have remembered me, even though our time together was so fleeting.”

“How the hell did you get out?”She snapped, taking a step back from him as her hand grazed her hip.

A reflex, he decided, feeling glad that she was unarmed.“Our good friend L decided he needed my expertise for this case.He says he’ll let me off on parole if I behave myself.”

Naomi snorted dismissively, not moving from her guarded stance.“Like that’ll ever happen.”

“I told him as much,” Beyond shrugged, “Yet he still insisted I work the case.With you.”

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, neither willing to give an inch.It felt like an hour, but he was sensitive enough to the passage of time to know that it couldn’t truly be more than a minute at most.

Finally, Naomi was the one to break, swinging the black duffel bag on her shoulder onto the bed.“I’m assuming L filled you in on the details?”

Beyond nodded, coming to stand beside her.“Kidnapping, eight so far.They initially seemed not to have much in common: men, women, old, young, the kidnappers have been all over the map.However, it has come to light that all eight victims were in long-term relationships, with two of them even being part of a polycule together.”

Naomi nodded, and unzipped the bag, upending its contents onto the comforter.“He told you what kind of relationships these were?”

“That all of the victims engaged in BDSM with their partners?Yes, I’m awa- is that a butt plug?”Beyond stared at the objects that were now strewn across his bed. 

She reached out and plucked the aforementioned object from the pile.“Technically, it’s a tail plug.And _you’re_ going to be wearing it.”

Beyond recoiled. “Um, Miss Misora, I’m not sure if you remember, but I’m a top. I’ve never been submissive, and I don’t intend to start now. If either of us is going to be wearing _that _,” he gestured at the offending rubber tail, “It’s going to be you.”__

“No, it’s not.”Naomi’s voice was firm, though he detected the slightest hint of a quiver.“I’ve thought this over long and hard already-“ she cut him off as he opened his mouth to make a dirty joke, “Don’t even think about it.There’s no way I’m taking on the role of submissive in this case, and  especially  not to you.”

Beyond bristled.“You don’t think it’s a little inconsiderate to make the decision without me?”

Naomi rolled her eyes, “I told you, I’ve thought this through and I...” she trailed off, noticing the way he had moved away from the strewn gear with discomfort, “I just... I can’t do it.I spend all my time answering to everyone else at work, and even when I get home there’s Raye, and he...” she sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the brown carpet.

Beyond shifted uncertainly. “Who’s Raye?” He finally asked, hands stuffed in the pockets of his black cargo shorts.

She still didn’t look at him.“My... my boyfriend.We were supposed to go on a trip next week, and now... I just hope he won’t hate me...”

He was fairly certain that the bristling sensation he felt at her words had very, very little to do with jealousy.It was dumb to be jealous, anyway.She’d been in a relationship during their case, as well, probably the same one now that he thought about it.No, the fact that he could feel something between righteous anger and incredulity had nothing- well, almost nothing, to do with jealousy, and everything to do with how she spoke about her boyfriend.

“If he hates you for this then he’s a dumbass,” Beyond said with a shrug, “You’re working a case, one you can’t get out of because L is in charge of it.If he can’t deal with that, then that’s his problem.”

She was looking at him now, one eyebrow raised as though she thought what he was saying was ridiculous.His heart sank.“He won’t see it that way.”

Beyond sat down on the bed hard, making the objects on it scatter.“Then he’s a fucking jackass.”

Naomi just shook her head, sitting up straight.“Whatever.That’s not what the issue is here, anyway.”

“Right.”Beyond agreed, leaning back on his arms, only to feel something sharp dig into his palm.Blindly, he grabbed the object and brought it around to face him.The collar.The ridiculous, pink collar with a heart in the middle.The idea that L had even thought that either of them would wear such a thing was beyond laughable.Naomi especially, with her penchant for dark colors and hard angles.Gods, he loved that about her.

He could wear pink.He liked pink.It was the color of strawberry ice cream and the covers of shojo manga.The heart would probably dig into the scar that licked up from his collarbone, and the inside was rough enough that it could chafe if he wore it for too long, but... some part of him, a part he wasn’t sure had seen the light of day since he’d been kicked in the jaw by the woman sitting beside him, was more than okay with the idea of wearing a collar for Naomi Misora.

“I’ll wear the collar.”He caught the jerk as Naomi turned to stare at him in surprise.“I’ll wear the collar, and the hood, and even the paws.But I _won’t_ _,”_ he stared her straight in the eyes, “Wear the tail.”

“I can live with that.”


	3. Chapter 3

The purr of her motorcycle was as comforting as a kitten’s as she idled at a red light on Saturday morning, one foot on the asphalt.

Raye had taken the car to drive up to see his parents, leaving her with her bike.Not that she minded, really.She loved her bike.Loved the speed and the freedom, the feeling of practically defying gravity as she zipped around the wide turns of the canyon roads, the ease of sliding past rush hour traffic between the lanes.But, having her bike meant having Ryuzaki on her bike.Behind her.Touching her.

The light turned green and she kicked off, veering towards the on-ramp of the 110.She could do this.It would be fine.

He was sitting on the concrete wall of a flowerbed when she pulled up to the front of the hotel.When he saw her, he jumped to his feet, looking energetic.

That was all she needed.

She knocked down her kickstand and killed the engine.The summer heat was sweltering in normal clothes, making it feel uncomfortably like being wrapped in tin-foil in an oven under her heavy black protective gear.Taking off her helmet felt like the blessed relief of stepping into a heavy gust of AC.

“Is that what you’re wearing?”She asked as Ryuzaki approached her.He wore the same outfit he’d been in when she’d come to see him on Thursday, a plain black t-shirt and matching black cargo shorts, and part of her wondered if they were the only clothes he had.

“Is that a problem?”He asked, one eyebrow raised.

“If you fall you’ll lose your kneecaps.”

He glanced down at his bare legs, seeming to consider this before shrugging.“They’ve seen better days anyway.I’ll live.”

“Not if you don’t wear this, you won’t.”She passed him her extra helmet pointedly.

Ryuzaki scoffed.“Helmets are for losers.”

“And what does that make me?”She asked, setting her own helmet back over her head.

“A very pretty loser.”

She rolled her eyes.“Shut up and put on the helmet before I make you.”

“Ooh, somebody’s already getting into character.”Even as he teased, she risked a smirk behind her visor as he secured the helmet onto his head.

“Good boy.”

“Careful,” Ryuzaki warned, moving past her to mount her bike at the front, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll remember that just because I’m  _playing_ submissive doesn’t mean I actually am.”

Naomi bristled.“And if  _ you _ know what’s good for you, you’ll move your ass to the back of my bike.”

“So territorial,” his voice was mocking, and he ran his fingers appreciatively over the handlebars.“What’s the horsepower on this, anyway?”

“326 horsepower of  _ you’re not driving my bike_!”She snapped, knocking his foot off of the rest with her boot.

Ryuzaki didn’t react, instead stroking the controls as though petting a horse.“Mommy gets jealous easily, doesn’t she?”He whispered conspiratorially to the motorcycle.As though sensing the fact that she was beginning to seriously consider dragging him off by the scruff of his neck, he sat back and pushed his visor up, shooting her a cocky grin.“Come on, Misora, I’m only teasing.Besides, it’s  _ far _ more fun to be on the back.”His grin turned to a leer, and she pushed his shoulder lightly.

“Just scoot back, you creep.”

He slid backwards out of the driver’s seat, then patted the spot he’d just vacated.

“You have everything?”She asked, noticing him adjusting the cheap backpack he wore.

“Yep.One change of clothes and three servings of strawberry jam.”

“You really shouldn’t carry glass on you while on a motorcycle.”She settled in front of him, trying to ignore how he snaked his arms around her stomach and pressed his body against hers.“And if those hands move even an inch up or down while I’m driving, I’m dumping you on the freeway.”

“They’re squeeze bottles.”Was all he said, squirming in closer to her.

This was fine.

—

To say the resort was in the middle of nowhere was to put it casually.

It didn’t take long for the bustling, smog-heavy city to fade to wide, flat desert that swam in her vision in the summer sun.It seemed like, outside of the major cities, Southern California was an endless expanse of desert.Every now and then they would pass a gas station, or a town that seemed to exist as nothing but a pit stop for through-traffic, but that was the extent of it.The GPS in her ear chimed in, reminding her that she was to stay on this highway for the next seventeen miles.She groaned.

A brown sign whizzed by, noting a rest stop in the next three miles, and she let the bike slow gradually as they came up to it, pulling into the deserted gravel parking lot when it appeared to their right.

“Let’s take a breather for a sec, I need some water,” she said, untangling herself from Ryuzaki’s grip and dismounting the bike, snagging a metal water bottle from one of the saddlebags.

Slowly he followed her, resting his helmet on the seat and stretching his arms above his head.

Walking over to the single concrete picnic table, Naomi peeled off her jacket and sprawled against the corner of the table.She unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and drank greedily, eyes closed against the glaring sun.

She heard a scraping sound as Ryuzaki climbed onto the table next to her, and when she opened her eyes she saw him sitting on the tabletop with one leg up and the other dangling below the bench.

He looked uncomfortable, she noticed, one hand shielding his face from the sun and the other tugging the legs of his shorts down so they covered any flesh that might make contact with the table.

“This’ll just be a quick stop,” she said, pushing herself up despite how much she wanted to stay sprawling, “Drink some water, use the restroom, then we’re back on the road.”She poured out a handful of water and splashed it across her face and the back of her neck.“I’ll be right back, stay out of trouble.”

That was probably too much to ask of him, she thought as she made her way towards the restrooms.He would probably sooner wear the tail plug than stay out of trouble.

If nothing else, she assured herself, she had the keys to her motorcycle in her pocket, and if he tried to run he wouldn’t get very far on foot.

Only, by the time she was back out of the restrooms, wiping her wet hands on her tank top for lack of any paper towels, Ryuzaki was gone.

“Shit.”

Of course he was gone.What was she expecting?The man was a convicted criminal given his first taste of freedom in two years.Of course he would run.

She was stupid, that was what it was.She was stupid for trusting him for even a second.She should’ve chained him to the table.She should’ve...

His backpack was still on the table.

She unzipped the bag, taking a look inside.The bag was startlingly empty, even compared to how it looked from the outside, and, true to his word, inside were three plastic squeeze bottles of strawberry jam, a t-shirt, jeans, and boxers.

“Surely he would’ve at least taken the jam...” she murmured to herself, re-zipping his pack and taking proper surveillance of the dusty rest stop.The gravel was pushed into the shape of footprints, roughly the same size as Ryuzaki’s shoes.Footprints that led around to the other side of the restrooms.

She really was stupid.Stupid and paranoid.Even so, she shouldered his bag and walked to the other side of the small building, leaning against a wooden post to wait.

The roof offered some amount of shade, which made it easier to listen to the sink run inside.Was he taking a bath?She fished her phone from her pocket, taking a look at the time.She didn’t know exactly how long he’d been in there to begin with, but she had already been standing here for five minutes.

“Ryuzaki, could you hurry up?”She called.

The sound of the sink stopped, though she could still hear the patter of water hitting the concrete floor.

Finally, Ryuzaki walked out, shaking water out of his hair.

He was absolutely soaked.His hair was flat against his neck and dripping, and his clothes clung to him, showing off just how thin he truly was.

Naomi blinked, brows furrowed.“You go for a swim in there?”

Ryuzaki stared at her, looking like a child with their hand caught in a cookie jar.“I... ah, yeah.Sort of.It’s too hot out here.”He shrugged, even as she caught the roughness of his voice.

“Well... are you better now?We should probably hit the road.”She jerked a thumb back towards her bike.

“Right.Sure.”He nodded, not meeting her eyes as he took his backpack and began to walk back towards her motorcycle, tossing a small object into the bag as he went.

This time when he put his arms around her, she found that it wasn’t his proximity that she minded, so much as the dampness of his clothes pressing against her own.

She flipped down the visor of her helmet and half-walked the bike to the edge of the road.“Hold on tight, we’ve got a lot of straight-aways ahead.”

The bike roared as she pulled out onto the road, the speedometer already climbing up above the speed limit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this ended up having so many Beyond feels

He hadn’t  _ planned _ on having a panic attack at the shitty little rest stop.Hadn’t planned on scrambling in his backpack for the rescue inhaler the prison doctor had insisted he be allowed to take with him when he left.And he certainly hadn’t planned to soak himself to the bone in thedirty bathroom sink.

At the very least, his clothes were mostly dry by now, though the seams of his shorts still felt blessedly damp and cool against his legs as he clumsily dismounted from Naomi’s motorcycle at the manicured roundabout of the resort.

Of all the things he’d expected of Naomi Misora, and he’d come to realize that he may never fully know what she was capable of, he certainly hadn’t expected her to be the type to go careening through the desert at 150mph on her motorcycle.

His legs felt like jelly between the bike and the panic attack, and he found himself wishing desperately that he had somewhere where he could just curl up in the dark and pretend the world didn’t exist for a while.Instead, he hung his helmet on one of the handlebars, fluffed out his hair, and followed Naomi inside the air conditioned lobby.

Looking around as they waited in line at the check-in desk, Beyond began picking out those who were there for the retreat. 

It was subtle with most of them, the way a couple stood, how one inconspicuously laid a hand at the back of the other’s neck, how one man sat half in another’s lap.Other’s weren’t even playing at normalcy, already sporting collars and harnesses, some wearing soft, fluffy tails that attached to their belts, others showing off clip-on ears.Beyond couldn’t help but grin at those who didn’t bother with the facade.He had never understood the desire to appear “normal.”At the orphanage he’d only ever had pajamas to wear, which meant that if he wanted to stand out, he’d had to use other methods, and most of the time that meant getting into trouble.He wasn’t entirely certain about the idea of introducing himself as a submissive, but the prospect of so many people around him getting to be unapologetically themselves was already helping him to shake off the dregs of his anxiety.

“Here.”He looked back just as Naomi slipped a lanyard over his head.

He lifted the laminated tag hanging from it, smirking at the sight of the semi-inconspicuous graphic of a spiked collar and leash on it.

“Next!”The woman at the counter called, and Naomi jerked her head in her direction as she moved to speak to her.

Beyond followed, hands deep in his pockets and eyes on the numbers above the head of the concierge.Thirty-odd more years seemed a little on the short side for the woman in her mid-thirties, he thought.

She passed over a pouch with a pair of key cards inside.“You’ll be in building B, room 13,” she said, using a pen to circle it on a complimentary map.

Of course they were.

First the hotel, and now here.

Beyond idly wondered if L had requested the rooms specifically, just to mess with him.It wouldn’t surprise him, the detective was a notorious prankster according to Roger, though supposedly half of them were unintentional.

“You think L did that on purpose?”Naomi asked, looking down at the map as they walked away.

“Undoubtedly.”

Building B was only a parking lot away from the main building, with room 13 on the second floor and covered parking spaces in the front where Naomi could leave her motorcycle.

The room was more than a step up from the hotel he’d been in for the last three days.

Naomi set her bags on the counter of the kitchenette, flicking on the light switches as she went.

Aside from the (fully stocked) kitchen, there was also a living space with a sectional, coffee table, and flat-screen TV, a large bathroom with both a double shower and soaker tub, and a bedroom with a television against one wall and a single, king bed against the other.

“Oh, now he’s got to be kidding.”Naomi groaned when she spotted the single bed.

Beyond stretched out across it, the fluffy comforter half-hiding his face from view.“Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s a very nice bed, and it’s very rude of you to tell it otherwise.”

“Well, enjoy it now, ‘cause you’re sleeping on the couch.”She pulled open the heavy curtains, allowing the bright desert sunlight to fall across his prone form.

Beyond pushed himself up on his elbows.“Come on, there’s plenty of room for the two of us without even having to touch each other.Of course, we could always cuddle if you’d rather.”He caught her eye and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“On the couch, crispy.”She snapped with an eye roll.

He pulled himself up off of the bed.“Alright, alright, but just so you know, I’m an excellent cuddler.”

Naomi ignored him, instead digging through her bag.“Scoot, I need to change before I melt.”

—

His bag tucked between the living room wall and the couch, he sprawled against the couch cushions with a bottle of jam, squeezing it into his mouth as though it were a sports bottle.

“Do you have to do that?”Naomi asked as she came out of the bedroom, leather pants and combat boots having been traded for a pair of strappy sandals and shorts that just barely brushed her mid-thigh.Noticing his stare, she sighed.“What?”

He swallowed roughly, coughing at the sugary coating down his throat.“You look like you could crush my head with your thighs.”

Her lips quirked up on one side, eyes sparkling.“That’s the idea.” 

He raised a knee up not-so-subtly, blocking her view of his crotch.He may not be submissive, but he had no problem admitting that one of main things that had drawn him to Naomi Misora in the first place was that she was  _strong_.Not just mentally, though there was that too, but physically strong.Before he’d even fully moved to attack her in that alley she had sent a boot flying his way.It had been in his own interest that he’d run that day.

And now, standing in front of him, there was no denying the flat, toned muscles that rippled with her every movement, showing off the unquestionable power of a body honed for fighting instead of show.

She didn’t seem to have noticed, or if she had, she was choosing not to acknowledge it.Instead, she brought the duffel bag to the couch, holding the pink collar in one hand.“Time to get dressed, we have a meet and greet at one.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.It’s time for you to be a very good boy and put on your collar and puppy hood.”Naomi looked wicked as she said it, and he suddenly had the feeling that this charade was going to take more than just wearing a collar and wandering around on all fours.

“You’ll have to try a little harder than that, Misora,” he said, shrugging as he settled himself further down into the pillows.“We’re not in public yet, which means  I’m not on the clock.”

Naomi seemed to hesitate a moment, and for a blessed second he actually thought she might wait until they were in public to collar him.Instead, she reached out and snatched the bottle of jam from his hand.

“Hey!”His yelp came out with more than a hint of a whine to it, and he leapt from the couch, nearly running into the coffee table as he made a desperate grab for his jam.“Misora, give it back!”

Naomi easily played keep-away with the plastic squeeze bottle, ducking each of his attempts to regain it.“No way.It’s the jam for the collar.”

He snorted dismissively, and began to circle her slowly, his back to the wall.He lunged for the jam a second before she had fully turned to face him, only to be met with a fist wrapped in the collar of his shirt.

She held his jam in her opposite hand, her arm fully extended to keep it out of his reach.“Those are my rules, Ryuzaki.I want to do this as little as you do, but I am, and I don’t want to have to explain to any other doms why my I let my sub run around without a collar.”

He rolled his eyes, but stopped struggling.“Fine, hand it over.”

Naomi shook her head.“No way, we’re doing this right.”At his raised eyebrow she sighed, “Chin up, puppy dog.”

He hesitated a moment, weighing the pros and cons of doing as she said, then lifted his chin, baring his neck to her.

She passed him his jam and moved behind him, pressing the metal heart gently against the skin just below his Adam’s apple, being gentle as she wrapped the leather over the wide swatch of scar tissue on the right side of his neck.He felt a slight tug, two fingers pressed between his skin and the collar, then heard the quiet clink of the miniature padlock being the set in place.

“See, that’s not so bad now, is it?”She asked, coming back around to face him.

He touched the leather tenderly, almost as though he were afraid it might shock him.“I... suppose not,” he conceded.

“Besides, L could have chosen something much worse.”

Any happiness or comfort Beyond had been feeling before curdled in his stomach.Right.L had picked this collar.And now, by wearing it, he was admitting his submission to not just Naomi, but to him as well.Naomi held the key to the tiny, decorative padlock at the back of his neck, but L held the key to his freedom.He was just as bound to the world’s greatest detective now as he ever had been at Wammy’s House.

“Now... you are going to need to at least take off your shirt.”

He started, his mind still foggy with the dark, bubbling feelings inside.“What?”

“Most dogs don’t wear clothes, Ryuzaki,” Naomi deadpanned.

“Oh.Of course.”He should’ve known that was coming.Even so, he felt the discomfort inside him rising at the thought.Taking off his clothes meant showing complete strangers- showing Naomi - every skin graft, every rib that showed through his skin because he wound up not being able to keep down half the food he was given while behind bars, every scar... he rubbed self-consciously at the raised patch of skin above his heart.The more convincing his pup persona was, the faster they would solve the case.The faster he could be done with L once and for all.He could... he could be naked.Mostly, at least.For the case.

Slowly, uncertainly, he took the hem of his shirt in his hands, and pulled it up over his head.

When the fabric was up past his eyes he could see Naomi turned away from him, her hand raised to block her vision.At least he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with this.

Undoing his shorts felt somehow less intimate.His boxers were long, and covered the majority of his thighs, making the difference between dress and undress a mere three inches of skin.Naomi’s shorts showed more.

When she looked back at him, she froze, fully realizing for the first time the extent of the damage his body had sustained from his suicide attempt.Her eyes lingered over his chest, and he felt his ears burn.

Even with his desire for his corpse to be unrecognizable, it had only felt right to leave the pendants around his neck, a final fuck you to L, and Mr. Wammy along with him.However, the doctors had removed the half-melted silver from his skin when they saved him, leaving him with a deep, red brand where they had sat, the right side of the A melting into the back of the B, forever bonded, burned into his chest.

“It must have been awful.”Naomi’s words were quiet, and all he could manage was a nod, not meeting her eyes.

“It’s better when I don’t think about it.”

She seemed to take the hint, leaving the subject of his scars for another time in favor of keeping them on schedule.“You’ll have to let me help with these, too.”

As it turned out, a lot of puppy gear was intended to be put on by the dominant, not the pup.As such, Naomi ended up having to put each piece onto him, all of her effort seemingly put into touching him as little as possible.

The hood was the worst part of it.Not only did the thing look ridiculous, but it was stifling and bulky.The eye holes cut off his peripheral vision, and the thick snout, even with the mouth partly open, greatly restricted his air flow.

Naomi held his muzzle between her thumb and forefinger, turning his head to get a better look at how the mask was sitting.“Looks like that’s secure, then.”She looked him over critically.“Are you  sure you won’t wear the tail?”

“Positive.”His voice was muffled behind the leather, but even through it he was certain his annoyance could be heard.

“Fine, have it your way.”Naomi sighed in defeat, backing off.“Now come on, we have some potential suspects to meet.”With that, she clipped a leash to the heart at his neck and led him outside.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naomi makes a friend

She should’ve known that he would take to crawling the instant the collar was on.

At every crime scene they had ever investigated together, he had dropped to all fours and crawled around like it was his natural state of being.She tried not to think about the fact that she’d had dreams about it.To make herself feel better, she’d always thought of them as nightmares, but she knew full well that sweat had not been the dampness that she woke up to afterward.

The walk to the main pool saw him actually pulling at the leash, and she wondered if a shock collar would’ve been a better fit.She intentionally slowed her pace, and to admitted amusement, he actually growled.

“You’ll hurt your neck.”She reprimanded, giving the leash a quick tug for emphasis.

Ryuzaki shook his head, making the leather ears flop.“You never said I had to be a good dog.”

No, she supposed she hadn’t.

“Fine, but if you end up choking, don’t come running to me.”

To her surprise, that actually seemed to work.He still was at the very end of the leash, but he’d stopped trying to pull her along by his throat by the time she was swiping her keycard over the pool gate.

She leaned down to unclip the leash once the gate had closed behind them.If she made small talk while Ryuzaki wandered, then they had twice the chance of profiling the majority of people here.“Now be a good boy and stay out of trouble.”

He snorted, the sound muffled behind his snout.“Staying out of trouble is more effective with a treat.”

She patted the top of his head, “You manage not to set anything on fire and I’ll give you a MilkBone.”

He made a gagging noise at the suggestion, but still turned to wander the perimeter, muzzle to the ground like he was following a scent, leaving her blessedly alone for a few minutes, at least.

Naomi cast her eyes around the pool, suddenly feeling self-conscious.It was true that she had been in a BDSM relationship before, but she’d never given herself the opportunity to join the community around it.She liked to think of herself as open-minded, but it was still a shock to see something that she’d always thought of as a private activity on such public display.

Mostly, she found that the couples, or sometimes even polycules, stuck together.The subs were generally the easier ones to pick out.While some wore full clothing, most were in a state of semi-undress, laughing and playing with their partners, and she found herself yearning for that level of open companionship.

One of the things that she’d initially liked about Raye was that he was sturdy.He was something solid to lean against, predictable and easy to understand.However, the flip side of that was that he was unwavering, traditional in his values, and, to an extent, boring. 

If she was being honest with herself, they hadn’t been working for a long time, not since she’d gotten suspended for failing to shoot a child.Most partners would’ve spent that three month period being supportive, and Raye had... to an extent at least.Mostly he had taken it as a chance to try and convince her that maybe she wasn’t cut out to be an agent, and that her time would be better spent as a housewife, cooking and cleaning and caring for his children.God, she wanted to punch him sometimes.It was an idea he still had yet to give up on, even after two whole years of her trying to convince him otherwise.

Lost in thought, she had wandered over towards a long table that had been set up with food and drink.Her stomach rumbled, a reminder that they had foregone lunch, and in her case breakfast as well, due to an anxious stomach, for the sake of timeliness.At least Ryuzaki had filled his stomach with jam before they left their room.

She was supposed to be talking to people, getting a feel for the other guests... but she supposed there was no rule that said she had to do so on an empty stomach.

She had just moved to step away from the table, small paper plate loaded down with a triangular slice of a sandwich and a clump of grapes, when she bumped into someone from behind.

“Oh geez, sorry!”She yelped, spinning on her heel to face the person she’d run into.

The short-haired woman laughed, giving her a good-natured smile.“No, it was my fault.I should’ve been watching where I was going.”She held out a hand, the other preoccupied with a cocktail, “Talia.”

Naomi accepted the offered hand, returning her smile.“Shoko.”

“Is this your first time at a get-together like this?”Talia asked, moving so they stood out of the main path.

Naomi could feel her blush, even past the heat of the day, “Is it that obvious?”

“Everyone has to start somewhere, you’re brave for coming to such a big event for your first time.Don’t worry, as long as you’re friendly and accepting everyone else will be, too.”Talia appeared to have the kind of nonchalant air of a person who could find their place no matter where they went, and Naomi found her to be just the level of welcoming she’d needed.“Are you here on your own?”

Naomi shook her head, “No, I’m here with my-“ she hesitated for a moment, unsure of what level her fake relationship with a convicted serial killer was supposed to be, “My boyfriend.Sorry, the whole ‘labels’ thing a little new, we’re still getting used to it.”At least that wasn’t a total lie.

“Where is he?”

Naomi scanned the crowd for a moment, sighing when she found Ryuzaki, locked in a tumbling match with another man in a pup hood.“Brendan, I thought I told you to play nice!”She called, and found that she had to bite back a laugh when he spotted her and waved, only to get bowled over by the other pup.

Talia laughed outright.“Don’t worry about it, Scotty can handle himself.”

“Is he yours, then?”Naomi asked, surprised.

Talia shook her head.“No, my Daniel is over at the ice cream stand,” she pointed out a muscular young man wearing bright green swim trunks and a monkey backpack, struggling with a quickly melting ice cream cone.“Scotty is the alpha pup in his little pack, we see them at most of the events we attend.It’s a close-knit community, this one.”

Naomi took her opening.“I was surprised this was still happening.I’d heard it might be cancelled with that string of kidnappings that’s been in the news lately.”

Talia sighed, her brows knitting together with sadness.“It’s awful, isn’t it?I’m surprised the police are even investigating it at all.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow, “Why?If it’s such a high profile case, I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”

Talia just shook her head, looking world-weary, “It’s always been a strained relationship between law enforcement and the BDSM community.We’re usually one of the first places they look when it comes to sexual crimes, and it’s still a struggle for places like dungeons to stay open when it’s so often lumped in with prostitution.”

Naomi knew what she meant.Working in the FBI meant being uncomfortably aware of the prejudices that tended to run rampant in law enforcement, and she’d more than once found herself unable to be on the defensive when an investigation turned it’s eye toward any section of the BDSM community for fear that she’d be called out and labeled a freak.Not even Raye knew the full story of her sexual history, all he knew was that she’d had a boyfriend in college, and that they had split amicably when he had gotten a job opportunity in Northern California.Hell, Raye didn’t even know her sexuality, and if she had any say in it, he never would.

Talia’s sub, Daniel had made his way over as they’d been talking, and now he leaned against his dom, his chin on her shoulder and an uneaten ice cream cone in his hand.

“Aw, is this for me, baby?”Talia asked, stroking his hair.

Daniel nodded, handing her the ice cream.“I got you chocolate, ‘cause it’s your favorite.”

“That was very sweet of you.”Talia kissed his cheek, only to come away grimacing.“Look at you, you’re all messy.Come on, let Mommy clean you up.”She led him over to a lounge chair, Naomi following for lack of something better to do, and sat him down before looking through a diaper bag for a package of wet wipes.

Daniel grumbled as she held him by his chin, trying to wipe away the sticky ice cream smeared across his face.“ _But Mommy _, I like being messy,” he whined, trying to pull away.__

____

Talia looked up at Naomi and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, “Littles,” she said with a sigh and a smile, then addressed her sub, “There’s a time and a place for being messy.You’ll get itchy if you don’t wash up.”

____

Daniel huffed, but let her finish cleaning him off.Once Talia was done, she pulled him to his feet.“Danny, this is my friend, Miss Shoko, can you say hi?”

____

Daniel looked down at his feet, seeming shy, and Naomi noticed that he was wearing bright yellow Crocs with charms of cartoon characters set in the holes.“H- hello, Miss Shoko,” he mumbled, holding out a hand when Talia reminded him to.

____

Naomi gave him a reassuring smile, shaking his hand firmly.She could feel the hard callouses of someone who habitually worked with their hands.“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Daniel.I like your shoes.”

____

Daniel perked up, grinning at her.“They’re great, aren’t they!?Yellow is my favorite color, and look!”He hopped awkwardly on one foot so she could better see his shoe, “I have Spongebob, and Chase, and Poppy!”

____

Naomi ooh’d and ahh’d appropriately are each charm, but stopped when she felt a nudge against her shin.Looking down, she was surprised to see Ryuzaki at her feet, looking up at her through his pup hood.

____

“Would you take off my hood and paws so I can get in the pool?It’s like five-fuck-thousand degrees out here and I feel like I’m about to spontaneously combust,” he complained, pawing at one floppy ear for emphasis to the fact that he couldn’t do it himself.

____

“Hello, doggy.”Daniel was crouched down so that he was roughly at Ryuzaki’s level.Excited, he looked up at Talia with wide eyes.“Can I pet him, Mommy?”

____

Talia put a hand on his shoulder, “Only if Miss Shoko says it’s okay.”

____

Naomi looked at Ryuzaki, unsure.“Would that be okay with you, Brendan?”

____

He tilted his head to the side, considering, then nodded his consent.

____

“Okay, but you have to be gentle,” she told Daniel, using the same voice she would for her three-year-old nephew, “It’ll hurt him if you touch his scars.”

____

Daniel nodded, and reached out to pet Ryuzaki, starting at his head, even going so far as to scratch his “ears,” and stroking down his back.

____

Ryuzaki appeared to think this was a fantastic idea, and rolled over onto his back so Daniel could rub his belly, one leg thumping at the ground.

____

_ For someone who’s never even submitted to a traffic signal, he sure makes a convincing pup _, Naomi thought to herself, surprised at how casually he treated being given tummy rubs by a grown man who called his partner “Mommy.”__

______ _ _

Eventually Ryuzaki rolled back onto all fours, turning his attention back to her.“Seriously though, I’d appreciate it if you could take these off of me.”

______ _ _

Naomi knelt down and unzipped the hood, pulling it off to reveal Ryuzaki with his hair sweaty and plastered to his skin.She put the hood beside her on the ground and undid the paw gloves, letting him sit back once they were off, stretching out his fingers.“Better?”

______ _ _

“Much.”He dropped to his hands and knees, then shook himself out.“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get in water as soon as possible.”

______ _ _

“Mommy, can I go swimming with Brendan?”Daniel asked, hands clasped behind his back.

______ _ _

“Sure thing, sweetie.”Talia had to reach up to ruffle his hair with him standing at his full height.“You want you goggles?”

______ _ _

“Yes please!”

______ _ _

She pulled a pair of yellow goggles from the diaper bag, and he took them quickly, securing them over his eyes before beckoning Ryuzaki to follow him.

______ _ _

“Come on, Brendan!”

______ _ _

Ryuzaki raced after him with surprising speed for someone on their hands and knees, the two splashing into the water.

______ _ _

Talia took a seat on the lounge chair, and Naomi took the one beside her, placing Ryuzaki’s pup gear behind herself.

______ _ _

“So, did you know any of the people who’ve been kidnapped?”Naomi asked, returning to the conversation they’d been in before their subs had interrupted.

______ _ _

“Of course,” Talia nodded, keeping a watchful eye on Daniel and Ryuzaki, “Like I said, this is a close-knit community.Daniel’s friend, Sophie,” she pointed to a woman in her thirties who was reading a paperback a few feet away, “Her dom was one of them.We’ve been friends for years, and I’ve never known either of them to be anything other than wonderful people.”She shook her head, one hand going up to play with the earring that dangled on her left side, “It’s all been doms in the community, for some reason.”

______ _ _

Naomi raised an eyebrow.That fact had been in L’s files, but had never been mentioned on the news.“Really?Do you have any idea why?”

______ _ _

Talia shrugged, looking at a loss.“Maybe it’s a sub who got wronged and wants to take it out on someone... maybe it’s someone outside of the community who doesn’t understand it... who knows?I just hope they catch whoever the kidnapper is soon, for all of our sakes.”

______ _ _

Naomi let her eyes wander back to Daniel and Ryuzaki, deep in an animated conversation in the shallow end of the pool.It must be devastating for the partners of those kidnapped, having someone they held so close and dear ripped away for an unknown reason, and seeing their friends go through the same thing...

______ _ _

She had chalked Talia up to definitely not being a suspect within the first few minutes of talking to her, but even so she found that she was happy having a casual discussion with her.She’d have to go and mingle with some of the other guests in a minute, but for now it felt incredibly comfortable just to sit in friendly company for a while, away from any of the prying eyes of her colleagues back home.

______ _ _


	6. Chapter 6

“Miss Misora, I’m  _hungry_ ~” Beyond complained, spread languidly across the couch that evening.

He was dressed in his second set of clothes: another black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, having showered off the sweat and chlorine from the afternoon spent at the resort pool.Naomi was sitting at the other end of the sectional, cross-legged on the off-shoot to better shuffle through her files and notes.Hearing his whine, she shot him a glare.

“I still have work to do before I can think about finding food.If you’re hungry, why don’t you have some jam?”

Beyond huffed indignantly.“I only have two more bottles, and I don’t want to run out in one day just because  _you’re_ a workaholic.”

She only hummed in response, her eyes on the crime scene photo in her hands.

He sat quietly for a moment, tapping his toes against the taut fabric beneath him.The afternoon had been interesting, to say the least.

The hood and paws hadn’t gotten anymore comfortable from wearing them for a prolonged period of time, but once Naomi had taken them off, he’d actually rather enjoyed socializing with the subs there.She had told him to stay out of trouble, but, though he was fairly certain she hadn’t noticed, he’d taken great pleasure from teasing some of them, using only half joking innuendo and the tone of voice that had always made A melt.

Of course, they had been there for information, and the two biggest purveyors of it had been the pup, Scotty (in reality a realtor named Tony Scott), and the little, Daniel, who had made it his personal mission to befriend him.

Scotty was actually a dom, just one who enjoyed the pup persona more than that of a handler, and he lived with his three partners, each of which were there with him.The man had told him about his thoughts on the kidnappings, how the community was on edge, and, most interestingly, how each of them had been long-time purchasers of gear from the same seller.Unfortunately, a quick search for the seller online once they had gotten back to the room had shown him nothing of note.The whole operation was completely on the up and up, to the point where they even had a service to show the ethical practices of the suppliers they used.

Daniel had been helpful in a different way.He was a personal trainer in his professional life, as was his dom, Talia.Both of them were known to the community as friendly and welcoming, spending their free time hosting dinner parties and game nights with both friends they had made in the community as well as in their non-kinky lives.They had personal relationships with many of the kidnapped doms, as well as their subs.They were pagan, but aside from the occasional goat sacrificers there was really no reason for that to be a red flag.They lived in West Los Angeles and attended Pride every year.Fun and quirky, but unlikely to be suspects.In fact, that same sentiment applied to almost everyone he had met that afternoon.

He sighed loudly, casting his eyes back over to Naomi.She was the type to do most of her deductions out loud, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched her mind work.

She muttered as she scribbled in the moleskine notebook beside her, cross-referencing each note and making small check marks and arrows beside some.Frustrated with herself, he watched as she hit herself on the forehead with her pencil, then began to chew on its end.

“Oh come on, you’d rather eat pine than dinner?”He asked.

Naomi slowly lowered the pencil from her lips, looking sheepish.“Okay, so maybe I am getting hungry.Any ideas?”She tucked the pencil between the pages of her notebook, then sat back into the nook of the couch arm.

He shrugged.“I saw a market in town.We could get something to make for dinner there.”

She seemed incredulous.“You want to cook?”

“We have a kitchen.”

She cast her eyes towards the high countertop, uncertain.“Why not just go out somewhere?It’s been a long day...”

He had to agree with that, but the thought of a long night spent curled on the bathroom floor for the sake of momentary gratification was enough to make him stand firm.“No, I’m not taking a risk on some restaurant just because it’s easy.”

“What do you mean, ‘taking a risk’?”She looked confused, and he supposed it was easier just to come out with it.

“I’ve been blessed with an auto-immune disorder: Celiac.No wheat, no barley, no rye.Nothing that contains gluten.I so much as touch something that’s previously touched the stuff and I’m out of commission for as long as a week.”He grimaced at too-recent memories of a digestive system in revolt.

He caught dawning understanding as she quietly considered this.“So the jam...”

He nodded, “One of the few things I know won’t be contaminated.So long as it’s unopened, anyway.Also, it’s delicious.”

Naomi grimaced at that, and he had to fight to hold back cackles.“I still think eating an entire jar of jam for a meal is excessive, but I suppose that does make sense.”She tapped the fingers of her right hand against her knee, considering his proposal.“Fine, we’ll cook here, but I’m handling the knives.”

He tipped his head in consent.“Fair.”

—

The grocery store ended up yielding everything they needed.

Taking his greater knowledge of potentially harmful foods into account, Naomi assented to him picking out the ingredients, with the strict warning that she had veto power for any of it.

With that in mind, he’d picked out vegetables, meat, cheese, and a gloriously large package of corn tortillas along with the essentials of coffee, sugar, and the entire shelf of strawberry jam.Within the hour the hotel room was filled with the scent of spiced turkey and sautéed onions.

Naomi seemed at a loss for words when he passed her a full plate.“You... made tacos?”

“Gluten-free food of champions.”He slid a miniature glass bottle across the dining table, “Hot sauce?”

She took it wordlessly, unscrewing the round wooden cap and proceeding to half-drown her plate in it.

He took a bite of the first of the two tacos on his plate, feeling a rush of relief at the reality of truly safe food.No getting sick, no laying curled in bed for days with stomach cramps, no migraines, just food, pure and simple.

“You can cook.”He shot Naomi a grin from the other side of the table.“When did you learn to cook?”

He shrugged, taking another bite, and answered with his mouth full.“My mother always had me help in the kitchen as soon as I could stand.After that it was all up to the orphanage staff, which was fine until I was diagnosed,” he swallowed roughly, “After that it was all potatoes and peas for me at every meal.If I was lucky there would be plain chicken, but no one there really knew how to cook without flour.Or pasta.For some reason they never understand that pasta has gluten in it.”He shook his head sadly.“Once I left I had to learn to cook for myself or I wouldn’t get anything done, so I started taking under the table jobs as a line cook.Came in handy in prison, they always liked the nights I was in the kitchen.”

Naomi shook her head in wonderment.“The only thing I can make is salad, and even that’s not always true.”

“I’m sure you’re selling yourself short,” he replied, going in on his second taco.

She laughed, “No, I’m serious.I burned water once, my sister can vouch for me.”

“Please.How old were you?”

“Twenty-eight.That was two months ago.”

Beyond gaped at her.“And somehow I’m the one with the arson charges.”He shook his head, laughing.

—

He lay quietly on the couch that night, shoulder bolstering the soft throw pillows, and stared at the tiny, red numbers on the clock set into the DVD player across from him.

He had  _laughed_ today.Actually, properly laughed.And he had wrestled, and gone swimming, and cooked, and gone over 100mph on the back of a motorcycle.

He rolled over, eyes on the too-dark ceiling, and listened to the muffled sounds of Naomi in the bedroom on the other side of the wall.

There were certainly worse people to be bound to.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time she got up the next morning, Ryuzaki was already awake and dressed, leaning against the kitchen counter as he chewed on a plain tortilla.

Naomi found herself feeling almost sheepish about her own pajama-clad form.

Seeing her, he pointed enthusiastically at the pot of coffee behind him.

He was a morning person.

Great.

She brushed past him and took a mug down from one of the cupboards, pouring herself a dark cup of coffee and trying not to wonder how much sugar he had put in his as she swirled a spoon inside her cup.

“Do you always sleep this late?”He asked, brushing corn dust off on his shorts.

She glanced at the microwave clock.It was only 9:30.“It’s not that late.”

“I’ve been up since six.”

Of course he had.

“Whatever.I’m going to hit the gym once I’m done with my coffee, and after that we have Puppy Training at eleven.”She felt that slightest bit of satisfaction when he startled at the mention of “Puppy Training.”

“You’re kidding me.”He said it so disbelievingly that she might as well have told him he would be turning into a unicorn.

She smirked at him over the rim of her mug.“Nope.At 11:00am today you’ll be collared, leashed, and learning how to sit and stay.”

He groaned, turning away from her to go in for another tortilla.“And this is helping us find the kidnappers how?”

“We’ll be on display to everyone here.If the kidnappers are here and looking for their next target, we might get lucky,” she explained.She downed the rest of her coffee in two gulped, ignoring the way it burned down her throat.

“And if they aren’t there?”Ryuzaki asked, following her with his eyes as she walked back towards the bedroom to change into her workout clothes.

“Then I just get to order you around for two hours.”

—

She took him with her to the gym, for lack of anything better to do to keep him out of trouble.

He’d whistled obnoxiously when she’d first come out in shorts and a sports bra, reminding her again of just how much she was going to give L an earful when next she called in for a report.

The resort gym was a good size, with separate rooms for weight training, cardio, yoga, and kickboxing.

Ryuzaki seemed to have no interest in any of the equipment, instead bouncing on a balance ball and watching as she went through the morning’s reps.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here.”

Naomi put down the kettlebell she’d been holding, turning to see Talia make her way over, Daniel not far behind.

She found it almost funny, seeing him out of subspace.She’d noticed that he was muscular the day before, but now both of them were flushed and shining with sweat, and he looked no different any of the gym rat surfers back home.

“Hey, you two.”She took advantage of the interruption and reached for her water bottle.“Brendan was telling me last night that you were both personal trainers.I should’ve known I’d see you here.”

At the mention of his alias, Ryuzaki rolled off of his ball and came to say hello, greeting Daniel warmly.

“We’re just on our way out, but will we see you around today?”Talia asked, wrapping an arm casually over the back of Daniel’s neck.

“Hopefully.We’ve got Puppy Training after this, but our schedule is clear for the rest of the day.”Naomi grinned.She found that she liked Talia a lot, and would happily meet up with her and her sub.

“There’s some barbecue grills over at our building.Can we invite you to dinner?”Talia suggested.

Naomi glanced over at Ryuzaki.He’d made such a big deal over food the night before, she wasn’t sure he would entrust his safety to someone who was practically a stranger.

To her surprise though, he nodded.“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“No gluten, right?”Daniel said, shooting him a crooked grin.“I found an absolutely beautiful flank steak at the store, I think it’ll go perfect with this citrus marinade I’ve been dying to try.”

“That sounds great,” Naomi agreed, bewildered at the fact that they already seemed to be up to date on Ryuzaki’s dietary restrictions.“Seven?”

“Sounds perfect,” Talia nodded.“We’ll see you two then.

Once they had left, Naomi turned to Ryuzaki.“How’d he know you can’t eat gluten?”

He shrugged, “He’s got peanut allergies, I figured he’d understand.”

She shook her head, marveling over how quickly they’d both made friends with the couple.“Whatever.Come on, I’ve got a speed bag to beat up.”

— 

Ryuzaki still complained when she went to put on his gear, but he seemed to have less fight in him than the day before.

Even though it was all for show, she still found herself enjoying the action of putting on his collar.She made sure to measure the width of two fingers between it and his neck so it wouldn’t be too tight, gentle and precise with her movements so they wouldn’t be in contact any more than necessary, but also making sure that he would be safe.

He had to lower his head for her to secure his hood, and she took care not to catch his wild hair in the zipper of it.She followed the line of the seam down the front with her fingers, checking that it sat in a way that it wouldn’t block his vision anymore than it already did.

“You know, some pups just wear clip-on ears.”He complained behind the mask when she picked up the first of the paw gloves.

“Most of them wear tails at the same time,” she reminded him, holding the opening of the glove wide until he sighed huffily and stuck his hand in.She buckled it tightly around his wrist as she spoke, “If you wanted to reconsider the tail, today might be a good day for it.”

Ryuzaki glared at her through the eyeholes.“I’m not letting you shove that thing in my ass.”

“Not even for a Scooby Snack?”She teased, though she couldn’t say the idea of inserting the tail appealed to her anymore than it did to him.

“You know those are just graham crackers, right?They’d make me sick.”

She rolled her eyes.“You know what I mean.”She stepped back once the second glove was secure, admiring her handiwork.That hood really was ridiculous, and nothing like she suspected he would have chosen for himself.It was too toony, too cute.She’d spent the night before thinking about it, about...  ugh, about him, though she told herself it wasn’t in that way.If he  were a dog, she imagined he would be one of the shepherds she was used to seeing K-9 units handle, all taut, wiry muscle and sharp teeth.And a wagging, fluffy tail.And perky ears.And deep, soulful eyes that spoke of unwavering loyalty and love... fuck.

She was fairly certain that a person who could dismember a human being for the sake of a grudge against someone entirely unrelated was not capable of love.You had to be able to turn off your better emotions and sensibilities to do a thing like that.And that wasn’t even mentioning the fact that he had ripped the eyes from the head of a thirteen-year-old girl.Whatever emotions she was feeling towards Ryuzaki, they weren’t sustainable or realistic, and she needed to continue treating this as just another undercover operation.

He was watching her.

Why did his eyes have to look like they were glowing all the time?

“Yes?”She asked, one eyebrow raised.

“You were staring at me.It’s rude.”

She was at a loss for words.Rude? _She_ was being rude?She wanted to counter him with a list of all of the many times he had been rude or inconsiderate, all of the times he’d stared, or asked about her bathroom habits, or slurped his jam, or rifled through the underwear of the dead, but that was old news.Really, the most she could complain about was the fact that he had chosen 3:00am as an appropriate time to take a shower the night before.

“I was just... just thinking.Sorry.I was thinking about how dumb that hood is on you.”It wasn’t a lie, that had been what had started it.

He sighed, nudging it with his oversized gloves.“It’s like shoving my head in an oven when I’m outside.”

She considered that.It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for anyone, but to him... her stomach twisted with the memories of seeing him burn alive, of the smell of cooking flesh and the sound of desperate, pained screams... her eyes fell to the brand on his chest, so different from the other scars, an A and a B, searing the flesh so deeply that the mark was almost concave.“You...” she hesitated over the words, knowing that it wasn’t what L would have asked for, “You don’t have to wear it.”

He shook his head, dismissing her.“No, I’ll be fine.It’s just leather.”

She allowed her disbelief to show, looking him over once more as she silently reached for the leash on the coffee table.“Just tell me if you need it off, okay?”

—

Puppy Training was held on one of the smaller golf courses on the property, the flags swapped out for canine obstacles and water bowls.

Naomi waved awkwardly at the other handlers as they approached, Ryuzaki sliding down onto his bare stomach the second she stopped to say hello, legs cocked behind him like a chicken’s so that as much skin as possible was pressed into the cool grass.

She recognized one of the pups in attendance as Scotty, the one who Ryuzaki had wrestled with the day before.He sat on his haunches now, one leg raised to kick at the pointed ears of his hood, mimicking a scratching dog.Two other pups were with him as well, and a woman in her early forties held the three leashes.

She reached out and offered a hand, “Hi, I’m Shoko Maki, I think our pups met yesterday.”

The woman took it with a warm smile, catching sight of Ryuzaki as he rolled onto his back, rubbing his hood against the grass.“Oh yes, Scotty told me that there was a new pup in attendance.We were hoping we’d get to see you here today.I’m Danielle.”

Naomi’s attention was caught by her other two pups, neither wearing hoods, as they played tug-of-war with a soft frisbee.“And who are these two?”

Danielle glanced behind her, laughing at the sight.“This girl is Dotty, and the boy is Tiger.”At the sound of their names, Dotty let go of the frisbee, sending Tiger sprawling in the grass before he clambered back onto all fours, both of them trotting to Danielle’s side.She pet each on the head in turn.“And who’s yours?”

Naomi gave Ryuzaki’s leash a light tug, but he only whuffled behind the mask, continuing to roll on the lawn.She rolled her eyes as she turned back to Danielle, “This is Brendan, he’s not very well trained.” 

Almost to emphasize her point, he rolled back to all fours, shook himself roughly, and then pounced on her shoes, trying his best to find an angle that let him chew on them.

As though he had been waiting for the cue, Scotty got to his paws and marched over to Ryuzaki, knocking the other man’s muzzle away from her feet with a bark.

Ryuzaki growled back, clearly enjoying being able to play up his new role, and jumped up, purposefully laying his upper body across Scotty’s bare back.

The other pup was apparently not one to give in easily, and he rolled them both, winding up with Ryuzaki pinned on his back, growling up at Scotty as he wagged his tail.

“Alright ladies, rein in those dogs,” a firm female voice cut through the noise of the scuffle, and without thinking Naomi yanked hard on Ryuzaki’s leash, Scotty leaving his prime form in favor of sitting obediently at his handler’s feet.

Ryuzaki grumbled under his breath as he came to sit beside her, eyes on the grass.

The woman who had spoken was dark skinned, with long hair that fell to her mid-back, and muscular in the way that suggested a lot of weight training in her free time, and Naomi was definitely not staring.

Whether she had noticed her stare or not, the woman made her way slowly and deliberately to where Naomi stood with Ryuzaki.“Dogs do best when they have a strong alpha to follow,” she said, projecting her words across the assembled group, though her eyes didn’t leave Naomi’s, “If your pup won’t behave, he may be trying to undermine your authority.”

Naomi knew full well that that was exactly what Ryuzaki was doing, but in the moment she could only manage a mumbled agreement, looking down at her feet to avoid the other woman’s strong gaze.

She moved away, and Naomi could breathe again, not daring to look and see if Ryuzaki had noticed anything strange.

“Of course,” Naomi looked up to see her taking a critical look at Scotty, “Some pups may be born alphas.”Scotty appeared to preen, sitting with his back straight and muzzle held high.

Completing her circle of the group, she stopped in front of them, hands clasped behind her back.“My name is Marianne, and I’ll be your trainer today.Our goal is to put your pups through their paces, to see how well they know their commands and how strong your bond as handler and pup is.”Naomi felt anxiety tensing her muscles, fully aware that their success here rested far more on Ryuzaki’s behavior than her own.“Let’s start with something basic.Please bring each of your pups here to the platform and have them preform a stack.”

The first pair that approached were two men, and the pup eagerly clambered up the wooden steps to the waist-high platform, where he stopped at his handler’s word and crouched with his paws equal distance apart and head high, looking for all the world like a show dog on display.

“Think you can do that?”Naomi asked, glancing down at Ryuzaki.

“Oh, I’m sure I can, but can you?”He sniggered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”She shot back, giving his leash a light tug as Marianne gestured for them to line up behind the next couple.

“Really?”Ryuzaki’s voice was teasing, “Because I think you’d make quite a cute submissive to her.Would you like try on my collar?”

“Shut up.”

Ryuzaki could at least listen to that, going quiet as she led him up the steps of the platform. 

“Okay... stack.”She said it as an order, but Ryuzaki just yawned behind the mask, then sat down.She tapped a foot impatiently.“ _Brendan_ ,” her voice held a warning, “I said stack.”

He tilted his head towards her, contemplating, then rolled onto his back, eliciting laughter from the people behind them.

Naomi felt her ears burn.

“What’s going on here?”Marianne asked, coming up to her side.

Naomi groaned, letting her frustration show as she turned to the other woman.“I don’t know how to do this.”

Marianne giggled, then approached Ryuzaki.“Sometimes it’s nothing to do with the dom.”She snapped her fingers and, just to annoy her, Naomi was sure, Ryuzaki rolled back to his hands and knees, his attention on Marianne.“Sometimes it’s just a pup acting out for attention.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow.“Attention?”

“Of course.You are his handler, after all.He’s trying to get a rise out of you, to see how much you really want him to submit.”

Naomi turned her attention back to Ryuzaki, “Is that true?”

He shrugged, red eyes wide and innocent.

Marianne shot her an encouraging smile.“Give it another try, and don’t be too rough on him.”

Sighing, really wishing she wasn’t anywhere near the resort or Ryuzaki at that moment, Naomi complied, placing a gentle hand on the back of Ryuzaki’s neck as she said, voice firm but calm, “Stack.”

He obeyed without issue, holding his muzzle high and setting all four paws firmly apart, his back straight and proud.

She was moments away from praising him when he caught her eye and winked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond Birthday learns something about himself

Beyond groaned loudly as he stretched, his arms high above his head in the cool kitchen of their suite.

The training had been exhausting, and his knees ached from taking his weight for so long.

“I’m taking a shower,” he told Naomi, not bothering to look back at her as he made his way to the large bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind him.

A thumb turn lock. 

Logically, he knew that L had no way of knowing the specifics of the door hardware in the resort, but the petty, edgy part of him would easily bet money that it had been another reason L had sent him here.

Why had L sent him, anyway?Beyond wondered over the question as he undressed and started the water, making sure it was just above freezing before getting in.

Surely there were other people that he could have sent, even other people that Naomi Misora would have been much happier to work with, so why him?

It wasn’t like L to do something out of the goodness of his heart, especially not when it came to his successors, which would mean that it had nothing to do with getting him out of a life sentence in prison...

He cast his mind back to the various kidnapping victims, trying to find anything about them that made him the one L needed to solve the case, the cold water turning warm as it beaded off of his forehead.

None of it made sense.

Why go after only doms?Why target the BDSM community in the first place?What was it all for?Was it only one kidnapper, or a group?An organization?Was this human trafficking?If it  was human trafficking then why not go after subs instead?Or both of them?And why did finding out require him and Naomi Misora to play master and pet?

Exhausted and confused, he slid to the floor of the shower, laying spread eagle between the opposing shower heads to let the water beat down on him from all sides.

Why was he okay with it? 

He wasn’t a sub.He’d never once submitted to anything in his life!Only, he supposed he couldn’t say that anymore.Because he  had submitted, even if it was only a little.Only for show.

A small amount of submission might not be  so bad... Daniel certainly seemed to enjoy it. 

The thought of the little reminded him of their dinner date with him and Talia, and his stomach grumbled at the promise of food.He would get something for lunch once he could convince himself to leave the comforting tile of the shower.

Could he truly see himself ever submitting to Naomi Misora?

It was true that the pup gear left a bad taste in his mouth, but that had nothing to do with the gear itself, and everything to do with the person who’d bought it.

Would he like it, then, if the collar belonged to her?

Lost in thought, he let his eyes close, imagining the kind of collar Naomi Misora might put him in, if given the choice.

It would be a black leather affair, that he was certain of, but it would have to have some of him in it too, if it was truly meant to be his.Perhaps one with sharp metal spikes, that showed off the fact that he wasn’t a pup to be trifled with.Or maybe it would be studded instead, eliciting a similar effect without the threat of potential impalement.

No, it would be spikes.

He let his mind conjure up the image of her behind him, looping the leather collar around his neck, gently stroking one hand down his chest as she buckled the collar with the other.

It would have a tag hanging from it, he decided, one with his true name engraved on it.A symbol that he belonged to her, in mind, body, soul, and name.

The collar wouldn’t chafe like L’s did, would barely feel like it was there at all.A natural extension of himself.

Naomi would call him “Good boy,” teasing, her lips on the scar on his neck and her fingers playing at the hardness of his nipples. 

Eventually, one hand would snake down his torso, pressing against his abdomen as she held him firmly against her body, possessive.

_“My good boy...”_

He whined, just a little, quiet under the pounding water, shifting his hips so it hit him at a better angle.

In his mind, she told him to kneel, and he obeyed without question, without hesitation.He knew what she wanted of him.

_“Such a good puppy...”_

She would run her fingers through his hair, nails just barely biting into the scalp, fingers tangling so that she could pull, controlling his head.

In his fantasy they were both naked, her strong, muscular body on display for him and him alone, his own nudity a symbol of his trust, that she saw him, fully bared in the state that he was, and was still attracted to him.Still called him  _beautiful_ ...

_“Does my good boy want a treat?”_ She would ask, somewhere between mocking and needy, and lead his head to her center, allowing him to touch her there, tongue and fingers surrounded by warmth and the rich scent of her.

She would arch against him, the hand in his hair pulling the slightest bit too hard, just as in control of his body as she was loosing control of her own, his name on her lips...

Once she came, she would make him clean her with his tongue, a nigh impossible task when his actions only elicited her to become more turned on the harder he worked.

Eventually she would pull him away, only half gentle, and push him onto his back, his knees bent, baring him to her completely.

Unconsciously, he spread his legs, mimicking his pose in the fantasy.

She would kiss him, rough and proper, all tongues and teeth and need, and draw his hands above his head while he was distracted, so that only once she had moved to his throat would he find them cuffed together.

She would stroke his thighs, reverent, and tell him what a good boy he was being for staying so still while she touched him, explored him... loved him.

He whimpered, finally giving in to temptation and wrapping a hand around his aching cock, forcing himself not to immediately thrust into it.

She would be deliberate about it, no beating around the bush.She would take him in one hand, crouched above him, and slowly... achingly slowly... slide him inside of her.

She would hold him down as she fucked him, one hand around his cuffed wrists, the other over his mouth to keep him from alerting anyone of their indecent behavior, her legs holding his own.

She would call him  _“Good boy...”_ and  _“Sweet boy...”_ and  _“So pretty when you beg...”_

Cheek pressed to the wet tile, he bit his lip hard to keep from crying out as he came into his hand, hips jerking of their own accord.

He lay there for a moment, quiet and gasping, as the aftershocks passed, letting his hand fall gently to his hip.

Opening his eyes, he sat up slowly, muscles loose and all tension washed down the drain with the cum that splattered his stomach.

Well... he certainly hadn’t intended to do  _that_ .

Slow and shaky, he turned off the water and stepped out, reaching for a towel. 

It seemed rough and scratchy with his body so wrung out and sensitive, and he was extra cautious over his scars, making sure that they were dry before applying the cream that kept them from cracking and bleeding.

Leaning against the bathroom sink, he found that he couldn’t bring himself to look at his reflection, couldn’t bare to look up and see the way his hair fluffed out.The way it looked like L’s.

—

Talia and Daniel were staying in building E, and Beyond was more than happy to follow the mouthwatering scent of steak back from the parking lot to the semi-covered outdoor space behind the building, looking out over the golf course.

“Over here!”Talia waved them over to a large round table set up next to the barbecue where Daniel stood, a pair of tongs in hand.

Beyond went to stand beside Daniel, breathing in deeply.“That steak smells amazing.”

Daniel grinned, “It’s gonna taste even better.”

He returned his grin, though he knew it didn’t reach his eyes.He was preoccupied with thoughts of his shower... of the thoughts he’d had while in the shower.Without thinking, he brought his thumbnail to his teeth, nibbling absently.

“You’ll end up hurting yourself like that, you know.”

Beyond glanced back at Daniel, nail still caught between his teeth.“What?”He asked around his finger.

“Biting your nails.I used to do it like crazy when I was a kid.It got so bad my mom had to get this polish that makes ‘em taste like shit so I would stop.”

Beyond took his finger from his mouth, inspecting it dubiously.“One time the nurse had to wrap them in gauze.I chewed them to the quick and got blood all over my homework.”

Daniel nodded.“See?It’s a bad habit.”

Beyond shrugged, then moved to his pointer finger, chewing on the short nail.

He let the silence hang for a moment, his eyes wandering to where Naomi and Talia stood next to the table, cutting vegetables.Finally, he turned to Daniel, catching the wave of heat as he raised the lid of the barbecue to flip the food inside.“Hey, Daniel... how did you know?”

Daniel cast him a curious glance, “Know what?”

“That... that you were a submissive?That you wanted to be Talia’s submissive?”Beyond returned his gaze to the two women, uncertain he wanted to meet Daniel’s eyes.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Daniel rubbing the back of his neck.“Geez, that’s a big question.I mean, the whole little thing... that’s not exactly something you just slip in casually on a first date, you know?For a lot of years it was just, like... ‘oh, I just like cartoons’ or ‘I just think NERF guns are cool,’ you know?I was scared to tell any of my partners about it for a long time...”

Beyond nodded, thinking of his own love for trinkets and cute cartoons.

“I wasn’t even comfortable mentioning the submissive thing for a while... I don’t know how that started, I just... never felt comfortable topping, you know?The first time I was with someone who was willing to top me... damn, it was like a whole new world opened up.”Daniel laughed, realizing how personal his words were.“When I met Talia, there was just this spark between us.And then she was the one to ask me out, and when we got to talking... it was as if she was the piece I’d always been missing.We just  worked , right?”

“So then how’d you go from dating to wearing diapers?”Beyond asked, not bothering to mince his words.

“First of all, I’m a big boy, they’re pull-ups,” Daniel corrected, brandishing his tongs at him.“But, to answer your question, it sort of happened naturally.Talia was always more than happy to top in the bedroom, and when we started getting more comfortable with each other, we started talking about our fantasies, and... well, I got damn lucky, is all.”

“You did?”Talia asked, coming to wrap an arm around his waist.

“I absolutely did.”Daniel turned in her hold, letting his arms come around her smaller frame in a loose embrace before leaning in to kiss his partner.

Beyond wandered away from the couple, going to stand at the edge of the cement patio and look off into the golf course, half-hidden by the growing darkness.

Where did this leave him?What did this mean about him? 

He knew he wasn’t a sub, not in the way Daniel was.But maybe... 

Being a switch was a thing.

Was it ridiculous to be both bisexual and a switch?He huffed out a silent laugh, he couldn’t just have one thing about himself that was pure black or white, could he?He was all halves and percentages, like some crazy jackalope, or a platypus.

Naomi’s voice carried over to where he stood in the bushes, saying that dinner was ready, and he sighed, a bewildered smile playing at his lips.

Maybe his pup persona should be part wolf, he thought to himself as he took a seat beside Naomi at the table.


	9. Chapter 9

Naomi sat on the large, king size bed that night, stripped down to only her underwear and making a point not to look at the clock, as she knew full well that it would display a time that was much too late for her to still be awake.

If she was honest with herself, she was avoiding sleep for fear of the dreams that might come once she closed her eyes.The ones that she’d been having since last week.

The worst part was that they weren’t even nightmares.If they  were nightmares she might be able to shake them off, but these... 

She kept waking up uncomfortably moist.Moist in the way that was sticky and absolutely everywhere.Moist in the way that meant that she’d had to change halfway through the night more than once in the last four days.

And every last one of them had been about Ryuzaki.

Maybe she was just sexually frustrated, she desperately tried to reason with herself.She and Raye had been fighting for the last month or so, their upcoming trip to see his parents a last ditch attempt to make things work, and both of them were much too proud for make-up sex anyway.

And then... there were the texts.

She was probably just reading too much into it.It didn’t have to mean anything... right?

She pulled up the text chain between her and her sister, re-reading then again.

_Kyoko: Hey, where’s your boyfriend?_

_Naomi: Connecticut.Why?_

_Kyoko: ‘Cause I just saw this:_

And the pictures. The fucking pictures. Her sister might be a lawyer, but she could’ve made an excellent FBI agent. Two wide shots of the outdoor dining space of the upscale bistro beside the downtown library, centered on a couple sitting beside the iron fencing that encircled it.

A brunette woman in a magenta sundress sat on one side of the table, head thrown back in laughter at something her dining companion had said.

Her dining companion was Raye Penber.

The first two photos were far enough out and had enough grain to them when enlarged that it was hard to tell, but her sister was nothing if not sneaky, and another four photos had followed, close ups of the diners that made it glaringly obvious who they were.

Or, at least, who the man was.

The woman she had never seen before in her life, and receiving the portfolio of infidelity had felt less like a punch in the gut and more like getting kicked while she was down.It wasn’t unexpected, but it still felt like a cheap shot.

Raye Penber was not in Connecticut.

Raye Penber was not with his family.

Raye Penber was having romantic lunch dates with a pretty brunette in Downtown while she was stuck playing mistress to a convicted serial killer.

So, she supposed it almost made sense, in some twisted way, that she was having wet dreams about said convicted serial killer every night.

A whimper stirred her from her thoughts, and she sat still, trying to identify where the sound had come from.

It came again, this time louder, and muffled by the wall between her and the living room.

_Ryuzaki..._

Slowly, she got out of bed and pulled pajamas on to cover herself before opening the door.

He was asleep, the thin blanket he’d been covered with now lying mostly on the floor, the ends wrapped around his ankles.He kicked in his sleep, his foot smacking against the back of the couch, and whined low in his throat.

Cautious, she walked around the coffee table to the other end of the couch, where his head lay.

His face was twisted into a grimace, one hand half-covering it as the fingers gripped in his wild hair. 

He was crying.

Naomi’s stomach twisted at the sight, her throat tightening.She could only imagine the kinds of nightmares he must have.She had seen enough awful things to fuel five lifetimes-worth of nightmares, but they were all secondhand awful.She had done nothing to cause them.

Against her better judgement, she lowered herself into a crouch on the floor beside him, reaching out to run a gentle hand through his hair.

It was softer than she’d expected, almost silky, and she stroked it slowly, untangling his fingers as she went.

“It’s okay... you’re safe now... no one’s going to hurt you here...” her words were barely a whisper, but to her relief he began to quiet, his breath evening out and his muscles relaxing back into a calmer sleep.

For a moment she simply crouched there, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest.Unconsciously, she found herself rubbing her thumb lightly against his cheek, wiping away his tears.

She caught herself, and drew her hand away quickly. 

What was she doing?

Shaking her head, she stood up, casting a last glance at the sleeping Ryuzaki as she made her way back into the bedroom.

He was peaceful now, and she caught sight of him nuzzling down further into the throw pillow under his head.

She allowed a soft smile to grace her features, knowing he would never see it.

No one had to know that she was developing feels for a murderer.

—

When she came out the next morning, Ryuzaki was in a mood.

He glanced up when she opened the bedroom door, and pointed to a prepared cup of coffee sitting on the counter.His already sat empty in the sink.

His jaw was set tight, and she could practically feel the tension radiating off of him in waves.

When he finally spoke, his words were clipped.“Finish your coffee and get dressed.We need to get to building A.”

Naomi was tempted to argue.What was he talking about?Why did he look like he was five seconds away from getting into a brawl with the first person who looked at him wrong?She caught sight of his feet and raised an eyebrow.Why did he have grass on his shoes?

“What’s wrong?” 

He blinked at her, seeming surprised to be asked a question.“It’s Scotty.”

—

Within five minutes she was fully dressed, her hair tied back in a ponytail, and following Ryuzaki out of the hotel room to the elevator, having to detour around a maid whose cart was half blocking their door.

“Okay, you have to tell me more,” she insisted once the elevator door had closed.

Ryuzaki glanced at her sideways.“I took a walk this morning.”When he saw the look on her face, he shook his head, “Not far, just around the golf course.I ran into Sam- Tiger, the pup?He looked like someone had just shot his dog point blank.When I went over to ask what was wrong, he...” Ryuzaki growled, running a hand through his hair.“They took him.Sometime last night, he couldn’t tell me when.Not one of the three of them saw anything.”

Naomi’s mind was racing.Many of the kidnappings had been ballsy, but this?Taking someone from under the noses of three people seemed absurd to her.

Her phone dinged as they stepped out of the elevator, and she spared it a glance.

It was Raye.

The text was only three words, but it seemed to more than confirm her fears.

_This isn’t working._

—

The suite that Scotty had shared with his partners was a two bedroom on the first floor, and Naomi was surprised to see a number of other people, all attendees of the retreat, already there and talking in tense whispers.

Ryuzaki didn’t waste any time, dropping to all fours the second he crossed the threshold and scuttling between the people who milled around the suite, none of whom appeared to think anything of it.Thank god for small favors.

She made her way through the space with a bit more decorum, offering muted greetings to those she passed as she looked around the main room, checking covertly for any abnormalities.

Scotty’s three partners sat, quiet and stiff, in the sitting area.The woman who went by Dotty as a pup was leaning against Danielle, while Tiger- Sam, she corrected herself, sat on his own in an armchair, his eyes on his shoes.

Naomi didn’t bother to interrupt their quiet grief, instead moving toward the sliding glass doors that led to the back patio, inspecting the lock, but coming up with nothing.

Whoever had kidnapped Scotty had been in possession of a room key.

She turned away from the patio, searching the room for Ryuzaki.He was nowhere to be found.

He could be in one of the bedrooms, Naomi reasoned, moving casually so as not to draw attention to herself.

Her eyes caught a scuttling movement, and she couldn’t keep the tug of a smile from her lips. This was the advantage of working with someone like Rue Ryuzaki.

She met him halfway, tucking against the kitchen counter and kneeling so that they were on the same level.

“Well, did you find anything?”

Ryuzaki sat back on his haunches, then passed her a small, circular object.

She investigated it critically.It looked like a religious token, one that would normally be embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary or a saint.This one only had a small engraving of a lily with two simple words:

_ Novus Via. _

She raised an eyebrow at Ryuzaki.“Do you speak Latin?”She asked, passing it back to him.

He nodded.“It says ‘The New Way.’A cult, perhaps?”

Naomi shuddered.Cults were not her specialty, and she had no interest in getting involved with one, whether it was for or against it.“I sure hope not.Anything else?”

“Plenty of little things, but nothing useful in finding Scotty.”Ryuzaki looked more annoyed than anything.“Whoever it was, they’re sloppy.That’s the only way they would’ve missed this,” he tapped the medallion with a fingernail, “But Scotty had to have been subdued in some way.Drugged maybe.There’s no sign of a struggle.”

Naomi nodded.“I didn’t find any signs of one either, and none of the locks are tampered with.They must’ve had a key.”

With a groan, she rose to her feet.More people were coming, and they wouldn’t be able to find anything more with so many bodies filling the area.

She cast her eyes back down to Ryuzaki.“Come on, let’s get out of here.I need to move.”

—

Naomi Misora had been twelve when she learned that the best way for her to be a functional human being was to hit something.

Her parents, concerned that she had found her way to detention five times in the same month for starting fights, had enrolled her in a karate class.

It had been both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, it allowed her to move, and to punch, and to kick, all within the confines of a disciplined environment.On the other hand, karate was far too disciplined for her.

She had found herself constantly pulled to the side because her form was incorrect, or because she was moving too fast, or she wobbled...

Finding capoeira in college had been the best thing that ever happened to her.

The Brazilian fighting style was fast and smooth, and lent itself well to last minute adjustments when she needed it to.

They had made a quick pit stop at their room so she could get changed into something less constricting, and now she spun low on the gym floor, feeling a rush of pride when her kick slammed hard enough into the punching bag that it connected with the wall behind it with a loud smack.

Hitting things made it easier to deal with the things that she couldn’t hit.

Already down, she put her weight on her palms and kicked off the ground with one foot, sending the other flying into the black bag on its return swing with enough force to slam it back into the wall, spinning her body back into an upright position.

She grabbed the bag in both hands when it swung back down, stilling it momentarily as she transitioned to a different set of moves.

A grunt sounded behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Ryuzaki sprawled on the padded floor, propping himself up on his arms and looking grumpy.

She shook her head, wondering only fleetingly how he’d fallen, then set her sights back on the punching bag.

The move started in her upper body, and she twisted accordingly, using the momentum to power down to her legs, her shin making contact with the plastic exterior of the bag with a smack that left her skin bright red and stinging, only to be replaced moments later by it’s twin from the other side.

Ryuzaki swore, and this time when she looked he was on his front, his chin having connected first with the floor.

“What are you doing?”She asked, coming to stand above him.

He groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet, rubbing his chin.“Nothing.I just...” he seemed to consider his words carefully before continuing, “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

He started to chew on his thumbnail, “That spinning thing.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow at him.“You mean this?”She executed the move again, ending beside him.

He nodded.“How do you do it without getting your legs tangled?”

It was then that she realized what he had been doing.He was trying to copy her.Trying to learn.

“It’s not all that different from a cartwheel,” she explained, wondering if he was really interested in knowing, “just more horizontal.You lead with your shoulders, then kick with your legs from there...” she did the move once more, this time slowly, and without making contact with the bag.

She righted herself just in time to see Ryuzaki fall again, flat on his back.

She bit back giggles at the sight, and went to help him back up.“Maybe let’s try only half the move first,” she suggested, backing up so that he had room to move without hitting her.“Start with you hands on the ground, like this.”She leaned over with her palms flat, smiling when she saw him copy her.“Good.Now, shift your weight to your left hand, like that, and kick your feet out in an arch.”

Ryuzaki followed her instructions, and even managed to get one foot off the ground before tumbling into a sitting position.

“See, that wasn’t so bad!”She said, hiding her good-natured laughter behind her hand as she stood up.

He pouted up at her.“I fell.”

“But you got the basics of the movement right!Come on, keep practicing.”

By the time they finished at the gym, Ryuzaki had managed exactly one and a half successful kicks, but was grinning at her all the same from behind the wreck that was his already messy hair.

Sitting beside him on a shaded bench, laughing and sipping ice cold water from a vending machine, she could almost forget the troubles of the last twenty-four hours.


	10. Chapter 10

Naomi Misora was angry.

No, she was livid.

Beyond was more than familiar with the emotion, which was why he was flicking through the channels of the living room TV, trying, really truly trying, not to listen to her phone conversation.

The glass patio doors muffled her voice slightly, and the noise of the TV past that, but she was shouting now, which meant that he could hear her anyway.

Her boyfriend had cheated on her, the bastard.With only half the conversation to go off of, he couldn’t tell if the date her boyfriend had been caught in the middle of had been pre-planned or last minute, but from Naomi’s tone, he doubted it really mattered.

Then again, he supposed this might not be the worst thing.Certainly, he didn’t want Naomi to be upset, but from what she had told him about the man, they weren’t a good match.Hell, half of the behaviors she mentioned sounded practically abusive, and it was only because he had been over a hundred miles away that Beyond had managed not to hot-wire her motorcycle and go deck him personally.

He cast a glance out the glass doors, watching Naomi as she paced the small space, cellphone held a few inches away from her ear to keep the volume from being overwhelming.

She snapped the phone shut, and he quickly looked back to the television, trying to work out what the goal was to the people who kept falling off of inflatable giant balls.

The doors slid open, and she stormed in with all the grace of a hurricane, not acknowledging him as she headed for the bedroom.

He flipped from the obstacle course to a procedural drama, wondering if she was the type to break things when she was mad.

As it turned out, she was the type to blow off steam another way.

When she came back out, she was clad in her motorcycle leathers, her helmet under one arm.Seeing him, she tossed him her spare.“You coming?”

Beyond considered the offer critically.Certainly if she had wanted the time to herself she would have just left without him, wouldn’t she?Shrugging, he flicked off the TV and got to his feet, securing the helmet over his head.

If she went 150mph on a good day, he wasn’t sure he wanted to face her on a bad day without proper protection.

—

“Fucking hell!”Beyond exclaimed, arms wrapped tightly around Naomi’s middle for dear life as they careened through the desert.

Her motorcycle was damn fast, easily pushing 200mph, and he instinctively buried his face into her shoulder, bracing himself against the speed.

To his relief, she slowed to a stop when a stop sign appeared, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

“Is this thing even street legal?”He panted, not daring to release his vice grip on her jacket.

Naomi glanced over her shoulder at him, and he could practically hear the smirk that was hidden behind the tinted visor as she replied, “Do you really want to know?”

Fucking hell.

The engine roared, and they were off again, the dark sand becoming barely more than a blur of blackness to either side of them.

When she finally pulled them in to a gas station, Beyond wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to fully uncurl his fingers ever again.

“I need to refuel.You wanna grab us something from inside?”She asked the question without looking at him, her attention on the self-service panel of the pump.

“Anything?”He asked, surprised that she would trust him to pick out food for her.

Naomi hummed in assent.“Just no jam.”

“You take all the fun out of everything,” he joked, shaking his head.

He placed his helmet on the seat of the bike, digging in his jeans pocket for whatever money he had on him.A hundred dollars in twenties, all courtesy of L. 

The minimart was practically a different world from the dark landscape outside, all blinding fluorescents and the smell of stale fried food.

Beyond ducked his head against the glaring lights, hiding behind his bangs as he wandered the deserted aisles, contemplating bags of chips and bottles of soda.

Half of it wasn’t even an option anyway, and he shied away from the aisle of cookies, evening though his rational mind told him that there shouldn’t be any gluten on the outside of the packages.

Eventually, he stood at a waist-high cooler, looking down into the piles of ice cream inside.

It was a warm night, it might be nice to have something cold to counteract it.

Without giving it too much thought, he swiped a pair of ice cream bars from the case, neither containing anything dangerous, and went to the counter to make his purchase.

When he got back outside, Naomi was leaning against her bike, her eyes on the cloudless night sky.

Wordlessly, he tucked the ice cream into his backpack, then tapped her on the shoulder.

“You find something?”Her eyes were still far away as she looked at him.

“Ice cream, so put that engine to good use, or you’ll be the one cleaning out my bag.”He said it matter-of-factly, allowing her the mental space she needed as they climbed back onto the bike.

They had wrapped back around toward the resort now, the lights of the small connecting roads the only things breaking the all-consuming darkness of the desert, and Beyond found himself easing into the speed once they were back on the road, unsure if he had gotten used to it or if Naomi had slowed down slightly.

To his surprise, once they were back on resort property they did not take the thin street back to building B, instead heading down the winding paths that cut behind the guest areas for maintenance use.

Eventually they rolled to a stop at the top of a hill that marked the far end of the property, manicured grass fading into the scraggly bushes and cacti of the surrounding land.

Naomi kicked down the stand and dismounted, Beyond following her at a slower pace as she bypassed the bushes, sitting on the damp, grassy hill.

When he sat down beside her, already swinging his backpack around to his front, she pulled off her helmet.

Even in the dim, golden light of the far off buildings, he could see that her eyes were red and puffy, her mouth drawn in a tight line.

“Here,” his voice was quiet as he handed over the plastic wrapped ice cream, already having ripped open his own.

“Thanks.”Her voice was small and scratchy, and Beyond wanted nothing more than to reach over and wrap her in a hug.His only hesitation was the knowledge that she was likely to punch him if he tried.

Beyond sighed, placing one hand in the warm, moist grass as he bit into the cold chocolate covering of his bar.

This was incredibly close to the nights he had spent in the clock tower with A.

Those nights, they would push open the glass face of the clock, quiet as mice, and slip out onto the small sliver of roof.From there they would lay on their backs and count the stars, A explaining the various constellations and their stories until whatever it was that had made them go up there had faded from their memories, the only things that existed being themselves and the stars and the omnipresent ticking of the clock.

The constellations were different here, he realized.He had spent too much time inside these last years, lost in thoughts of wasted time and revenge, to watch the stars like he’d used to.

“So... how much of that did you hear?”Naomi asked, finally breaking the tense silence that had befallen them.

Beyond shrugged, “Only the important bits.”

“Oh.”

He spared her a glance, seeing that she was staring moodily into the grass as she ripped at it with her free hand.“You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it.”

Naomi laughed bitterly, “That’s east for you to say, you’re a serial killer.When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

Beyond flinched at her words, feeling his throat tighten and go cold.“Six years ago.He committed suicide.”

He let the silence hang there, familiar resentment bubbling up as he thought of the utter sorrow and rage that had filled him that night.He wondered what she was thinking, if she was scared, or angry, or something else altogether.

“God, I’m such an idiot.”

He looked at her, surprised.“What?”

“I’m an idiot.I shouldn’t have said that, Ryuzaki, I’m sorry.I’m just frustrated.”She shook her head, brushing her long hair from her face before continuing, “I’ve known this was coming for a long time now, and I shouldn’t be so... I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.I sorry.”

Beyond wasn’t sure what to say.That she shouldn’t be sorry?That he didn’t care?Neither of those were true, not really.He had expected her to not be sorry.“I’m sorry, too.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

Beyond considered this.He supposed... “That I was an insolent jerk yesterday?That I hogged the bathroom for three hours?That L is making us work together again?That I killed three people out of petty revenge?”He offered.

Naomi huffed out a laugh, a genuine one this time.“Well, when you put it like that.”

This time when they lapsed into silence it was a comfortable one, the only sounds the soft hum of distant cicadas.

Finished with her ice cream, Naomi tucked the wrapped beneath her leg and laid down on the hill, a hand behind her head.

Beyond took her cue, laying a few inches away, just far enough so that they wouldn’t erroneously touch.

“That’s the hunter, Orion up there.”He pointed where a line of stars cut through the night sky, “His belt makes the handle of the Big Dipper.”

Naomi turned her head to look at him, “Where’d you learn the constellations?”

“My best friend.He loved the stars.Sometimes... I don’t know, I like to think he’s up there now, with them.”

“He’s the one who died?”

Beyond nodded, eyes on Orion, “His name was Alternative.”

Naomi sounded halfway to scandalized.“That’s awful!”

Beyond shot her a crooked grin, “They called me Backup.”

She shook her head in bewilderment, “No wonder you became a serial killer.”

He laughed, “That wasn’t the half of it.”

A cool breeze blew up from the pond below, and he watched as his unburned flesh stood with goosebumps.

“I don’t think I’ll miss him.”

“Who?Your boyfriend?”Beyond asked.

Naomi nodded, “I’m sad, but I’m only sad because it’s ending.I doubt I’ll even feel bad come morning.”

“Good.It takes courage to break off something when it’s become comfortable.”

“I don’t think it was courage.I’ve never had much of that...” her voice was tiny, and Beyond’s heart shattered.

He propped himself up on an elbow, looking down at her with concern.“What are you talking about?You’re the bravest person I know.”

Naomi rolled her eyes, “I’ve never been brave in my life.I only joined the FBI because I was good at it.I’ve been terrified every time I stepped out in the field.”

“Of course you’re terrified,” Beyond was incredulous, “That’s why you’re not a sociopath like L.Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s doing something even though you’re scared out of your mind.”

Naomi seemed to think this over.“Like setting yourself on fire?”

Beyond’s stomach rolled.“No.Self-immolation isn’t brave, it’s cowardly,” his voice broke even as he said it, “It’s running away because you don’t think you have any other choice.”

Naomi took in the scars that littered his body, “And was there another choice?”

His eyes met hers, and he barely managed to hold himself back from kissing her then and there, overwhelmed with emotion.“Of course there was.  _You_ were the other choice.”

“What?”She was startled, her brown eyes wide as she held his gaze.

“You saved me, Naomi.Even before I lit the match, you saved me.I had forgotten, that there were good people in the world.The second the flames caught, I knew I’d made the wrong choice...” he wasn’t sure if this was appropriate, if he was babbling... all he knew was that he’d started talking and now the words wouldn’t stop.“I screamed and I cried and I begged, that someone, anyone, would hear me and save me...”

He wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, if it was him or her that moved first, but her hand was on his arm, pulling him back down to the grass, and when he complied his head was resting on her arm, and her fingers were running, feather-light, through his hair.

“Ryuzaki...” her voice was soft and uncertain, like she didn’t know what to say in response.

“Beyond.”

“What?”

He let their eyes meet again, dead serious as he repeated himself.“Beyond Birthday.It’s my name.My true name.”

“It’s a ridiculous name.”The words were out before she could censor herself, and Beyond chuckled, lighthearted.

“Yeah, I guess that’s what happens when you pick a name at sixteen.”

She continued to pet his hair, so gentle he could hardly believe it.“It’s really your name?”

“The one I see in the mirror,” he nodded, his cheek smushed against her bicep.

She let it sink in, the night air as warm and comforting as a blanket.“It suits you.”

Smiling, he let his eyes fall closed, for the first time in he wasn’t sure how long at peace with himself and his place in the world, wrapped in the arms of the woman who had given him a second chance at life.“I’m glad.”


	11. Chapter 11

She had been right.She wasn’t sad in the morning.In fact, if anything, she felt... happy.

Holy shit, she felt happy.

Not only that, but she felt  light.Light as a feather.Almost as though, as cliche as it was, an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Raye Penber was no longer her boyfriend.

Raye Penber could go and marry a pretty brunette who wore sundresses and drank champagne and didn’t work for the FBI and would be happy to have 2.5 children and a white picket fence.

And he didn’t have to convince her to be that to him.

She was... free.

Something clattered in the kitchen, and she flinched.

And then, there was Rue Ryuzaki-  _Beyond Birthday,_ she corrected herself.The man that she... the man that she was stuck working with.Who she most definitely was not having any sort of unprofessional feelings for, not even after he had told her how much her saving him had changed his life, and she had pulled him into her arms, and he had told her his name.

It had felt like an incredibly intimate thing, his admittance of his name.He trusted her.He wanted her to know.And as ridiculous of a name as it was, she liked it.

What better name for a man like him?

Certainly, it suited him more than  _Backup_.Who dreamed of naming a child that?

The smoke alarm was going off.

Goddamnit, what had he done now?

Shaking off any sleepiness she still had, she swung her legs out of bed to go investigate.

He was in the middle of the kitchen, a dish towel in one hand as he tried to redirect the smoke coming from the stove away from the blaring alarm.

“What did you  _do_ ?”She snapped, moving to climb up onto the counter.

“Sorry!Sorry, it’s my bad!”He sounded distressed, his red eyes wide with panic.

She stood on the countertop, using the added height to reach up and turn off the alarm.

When she jumped back down he was brushing his bangs out of his eyes, looking down at his shoes.

“What were you even doing?”She repeated her previous question, leveling her gaze at Beyond.

“I was just making breakfast...” when his red eyes met her brown ones, she noticed that he seemed... embarrassed.Almost like he’d been caught in the act.

She glanced at the blackened char inside the pan on the stove.“I thought you could cook?”

“Even trained professionals get distracted sometimes...” he muttered, biting his fingernails.

He only did that when he was nervous, and she realized he was expecting her to be mad.With a sigh, she stepped closer to him, running a hand through his soft hair.“Hey, it’s alright.These things happen.”

He stared at her, his eyes disbelieving and his nail still caught between his teeth.“But... I...”

She was touching him again, and she knew that if she wanted to keep up her stoic air of professionalism she shouldn’t be, but he just seemed so shocked that she wasn’t angry, and she couldn’t bare the thought that he might look at her the same way she had looked at Raye in those moments.“It’s fine.It’s just a little alarm.”She offered him an encouraging smile, “Come on, we can make something else together.”

His eyes looked over-bright as she pulled away, but she didn’t allow herself to stop and dwell on it, instead taking the pan from the stove and scraping the blackened dregs of whatever had been inside into the trash.Once it was clean, she replaced it on the stove, looking over her shoulder at the still silent Beyond.“Well, aren’t you going to help?I already told you, I’m no good in the kitchen.”

Cautiously he came to her side, still chewing on his nail.“Well... there are some eggs left...”

“Perfect.You grab those, and I’ll start chopping some green onions.”She stopped on her way to the fridge, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder.“It’ll be fine.”

—

It was fine.In fact, it was more than fine.

It only took a marginal amount of more coaxing for Beyond to get back into the roll of chef for the meal, and once he was it was like the near-disaster before had never happened.And a hearty breakfast of juevos rancheros ended up being just what they both needed.

“See?Everything worked out just fine,” she said as she washed their plates, Beyond leaning over the counter across from her.

“You... really weren’t mad?”

Naomi shrugged, her eyes on the sponge in her hand.“It’s not like you tried to burn the place down.”

“You didn’t know that.”

She glanced up at him, biting her lip when she saw him rubbing at one of the small scars on his hand.“If you’d wanted to set the place on fire, I know full well that you’d have a better and more effective plan than burning food.”

Beyond managed a small laugh at that.“I suppose that’s fair.”He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“There’s a street fair tonight on property, and all the vendors cater towards the BDSM community.I figure we can split up and talk to each vendor individually, see if they have any information that could be useful to the case.”

Beyond nodded.“Alright.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond has a panic attack

Beyond tugged at his collar, his feet shoved into beat up sneakers and his stomach full after dinner.He supposed it was a small favor that the collar was the only piece of gear he was wearing tonight, more a show of ownership than full submission, and one that he would be able to act mostly as a “normal” human in while he took stock of the vendors.

Naomi ruffled his hair as she came to stand beside him, a black purse slung over her shoulder.“You ready to go?”

He nodded, burying his hands in his pockets.“Yeah, let’s go.”

While he wasn’t the biggest fan of the desert during the day, he’d begun to truly enjoy it at night.The searing heat of the sun had faded, leaving behind a gentle hug in the form of the heat that leaked from the concrete in its absence, hand in hand with a cool breeze that carried the hum of cicadas on it.Deep amber light flickered from the lamp posts that dotted the curving roads as he trotted easily just behind Naomi.

It was only a small street fair, though he was surprised to see people he didn’t recognize among the crowd.Apparently it wasn’t just retreat-goers who had an interest in the wares that were on display tonight.

“Alright.You take the left side, I’ll take the right.We meet back here by ten, understand?”Naomi asked, her eyes already on the crowd.

“Got it.”He jokingly held out a fist, only to lower it when she ignored him pointedly.“See you then.”

The first booth to his left held collars made of thick leather, and he picked one up absently.The one he held was a deep, mahogany brown with etchings of desert animals inlaid in black stain, a bronze buckle clinking with the movement of his hand as he stretched it out.

“Looking for a new collar?”A female voice asked, and he turned to see an older woman with red hair and turquoise jewelry.

“Ah...” he felt his ears burn, “I’m just browsing.”

“Well, all of the collars here are genuine leather.We hand-stitch each one...”

Beyond hummed and touched each collar the woman showed him, forcing himself to pay attention as she explained the inner workings of her leatherwork studio.By the time he was walking away, he was certain he’d learned more about the subject than he’d ever had the desire to know.

Many of the vendors were the same, showing off handmade wares and unique gear that he never would have thought of.He found that he especially enjoyed the elaborate bondage ropes, showcasing ways that the human body could be twisted and immobilized without doing harm.

To his surprise, he even found himself allowing one of the vendors to wrap a rope around his wrists, giving him a firsthand demonstration of a knot and loop combination that could hold strong unless a specific movement was made to release it within seconds.

Unfortunately, none of the proprietors he spoke to had any useful knowledge of the kidnapped doms.A particular hood seller had given him the name of a dungeon that one of them had belonged to, but it ended up being one that Naomi had already vetted.

At roughly three-quarters down the left row, he approached a booth flanked by red candles.Each thick pillar burned with a small orange flame, and when he drew closer he could see that they had moulded wax spouts.

The inside of the tent was aglow with a rainbow of candles, and he found himself hesitating to step inside.

“Hello there, can I help you?”

A man in his late sixties came forward from the back of the tent, his back hunched.

“Oh, I...” Beyond stuttered, “I was just... just looking.”

“Well, step on in, son.”The elderly man, Jack Rogen, Beyond noted, slung an arm around his shoulders and led him inside, “Are you familiar with wax play?”

Beyond swallowed roughly.“Um... no.And I’m not sure it’s my scene.”

“Don’t worry, just take a look,” Jack gently lowered one of the burning candles from its pedestal.“See, they’re made with soy wax, and the design allows for better control.”Jack tipped the candle gently, coating the tip of one finger in red wax.

Beyond took a step back, reminding himself that there was no real danger, at least, so long as Jack was to be trusted.

Apparently seeing his discomfort, Jack placed the candle back on its stand.“Don’t let me keep you here if you’re uncomfortable, son.There’s all manner of indulgences here tonight, my wares are only one of them.”

Beyond nodded, “I’m... I’m sorry...” he moved to back away, only to stumble as his foot caught over an extension cord, sending him into one of the candle stands.He cried out as wax splashed onto his arm, hardening over scarred flesh almost as soon as it made contact, “Fuck!”

“Are you okay?”Jack steadied the stand.

“Yeah, I-“ Beyond bit back anxious tears, “I’m fine.I’ll be okay, I just-“ he scrambled out of the tent, “I have to go.”

He forced himself to walk casually away from the tent, squeezing between it and its neighbor before breaking into a run and scrambling behind a bench.

He sunk down to a sitting position behind the bench, heart racing as he scratched at the hardened wax on his arm.

The heat really hadn’t been that bad, considering his previous experiences, but the wax had sealed against his burns, trapping the heat, and the burning sensation with it. 

Anxious tears stung his eyes, and he rubbed them awkwardly against the shoulder of his t-shirt.

He was fine, he kept repeating it over and over again, though the thoughts were becoming more jumbled and frantic with each passing second.

He was fine.

He was okay.

He wasn’t in any real danger.

He was fine.

He was starting to hyperventilate.

He sucked in a breath, only to have it catch in his throat as a sob.

He couldn’t breathe.

Fuck, where was his inhaler?

He scrambled against the pockets of his jeans, clawing at the bulge of the inhaler until he managed to pull it out and into his hand.

He dropped it before he got the cap off.

He dropped to his hands, pulling it from under the bench.

He managed to get it to his mouth and breathe in the medication, but almost immediately began to cough when he tried to hold it in.

He dropped the inhaler on the concrete, hunkering on all fours as he coughed against his sobs.

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t breathe, and he was half-convinced that he was going to pass out.

Or die.

He was definitely going to die here, on his hands and knees, having a panic attack behind a fucking bench, and no one was going to know.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took a fucking age. Seriously though, I’ve been working on this slowly for the past month, taking my time over it because I wanted to make sure I did the chapter justice.
> 
> It only seemed right that I finally update it today, August 15th, on the anniversary of these nerds’ first meeting.

Beyond was late.

Naomi checked her watch again, foot tapping impatiently.It was already 10:15, and there was still no sign of Beyond.

She stared out over the crowd once more, searching for any sign of him.It wasn’t like he was exactly nondescript, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find even a glimpse of black hair or red eyes.

He  was okay, wasn’t he?

She shook herself.Of course he was okay.Despite the amount of people around, there was very little trouble he could get himself into.

Unless he had found something.

Something even more than she had.

Which meant... which meant that she needed to go and find him.

Not because she was worried.

Because she wasn’t.

But just... because he might need backup.

She felt incredibly conspicuous as she made her way back through the crowd, taking time to look over each and every booth on her left, eyes peeled for any sign of Beyond.

She made it to the end of the row without finding anything, and she found herself growing... _concerned._

She wandered past where the vendors ended, slipping inconspicuously into the deep shadows beyond the streetlights.

Lapping back around to the backside of the booths, she regarded each one with suspicion.

If any of them were hiding something, she would find it.

If anyone had hurt him, she-

Someone was crying.

She stopped, cocking her head to the side as she listened, trying to place the sound.

Over there, by the fountain.

Cautious, she moved toward the sound of sobs, footsteps measured to the point where they made no sound against the concrete.

She side-stepped to see behind the bench that flanked the quietly gurgling fountain and...  _ oh . _

It was Beyond.

Down on his hands and knees, body shaking as he sobbed.

She quickly moved to kneel beside him, her hand on his shoulder making him flinch.Fuck, what had happened to him?

“Beyond?”He didn’t answer.“What’s wrong?”When he still gave no sign of having heard her, she leaned down closer and brushed his bangs away from his eyes, only to have him curl in on himself, hiding his face in his arms.“Beyond, talk to me.”Her voice was firm now, but he only managed to whimper and shake his head between heaving sobs, and damn it, she really was going to have to kill someone, wasn’t she?

“Easy, just take a deep breath...” she soothed, rubbing her thumb in small circles on his shoulder.

“C- can’t.”The word was barely a whisper, coming out ragged, and Naomi felt her own breath catch.“Can’t...” he coughed, “Can’t breathe.”

His breath was fast and shallow, with a pronounced wheeze to it, and she grimaced.“You’re hyperventilating, that’s all.Just focus on slowing your breathing, it’ll be okay.”

He shook his head, then broke out in a coughing fit, barely managing to get out, “Can’t.”

Naomi bit her lip, wishing she knew better how to help.What had happened?Had someone hurt him?Was he having some kind of fit?Or a-  _oh_ _._ She should’ve recognized a panic attack in full-swing, considering how many times she’d locked herself in the women’s bathroom at work to have one.Still, without knowing what had triggered it, it was hard to know how to address it.

“Please, can you look at me so I can make sure you’re not hurt?”She asked gently, stroking his hair.

For a second it seemed like he might agree, lowering his arms, only to scramble to his feet and bolt for the nearest planter to throw up.

Slowly she got to her feet, making her way to his side.

He was leaning hard against the side of the planter by the time she got to him, his body shaking as he sucked in ragged gasps.

She slid down into a sitting position behind him, coaxing his body back against her own.He shuddered as she wrapped him in her arms, his breathing slowly coming back to normal.Her fingers found the smooth surface of hardened wax on his right arm, and it all started to make sense.

She could remember seeing a couple of booths catering to wax play, and she had to imagine that had been what had sent him over the edge.Some warm water would probably get it off easily, but right now she didn’t dare attempt to remove it with her bare hands.

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay... you’re okay now...” he turned to press his face into her shoulder, his hands clutching at her shirt, “You’re okay.I’ve got you...”

They couldn’t stay here, she knew.Beyond’s breathing had mostly evened out now, but he was still crying, and he wouldn’t look at her.He felt practically catatonic in her arms, and she was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to walk back to their room.

He... was fairly light... and she already had him in her arms... 

She slid one arm under his legs, easily scooping him up into a bridal carry as she stood.He made a little squeak at being jostled, but otherwise stayed still and silent as she began to walk them back to their suite.

She ignored the curious gazes of the people they passed, instead concentrating on the criminal clutched in her arms.She hated seeing him so terrified and beaten down, and her brain kept flashing back to sitting beside him on Blues-harp Babysplit’s bedroom floor, listening to him cry in pain and praying, despite everything, that he would live.

Her relief was palpable when they made it to their suite, even as she struggled to pull her room key from her bag and swipe it with Beyond in her grasp.

She didn’t bother to turn on the lights in the main room, instead going straight to the bathroom and setting Beyond down on his feet while she set the tub to fill.

When she turned back to look at him, his eyes were trained on the floor, one hand clutching the opposite arm, and she suddenly realized just how  small he looked, the same way he’d looked that morning, and she found that all she wanted to do was to wrap him back up in her arms and make him feel better.

“Beyond...” she stepped closer, reaching out to stroke his hair, “You’re okay now.You don’t have to worry.”He flinched away at her touch, and her eyes stung.“B...” 

He whimpered, and she let out a long sigh.Obviously this wasn’t something that could be fixed with a handful of words.So maybe...

It worth a try, she decided, and rolled her shoulders a little, an unconscious tick that went with sliding into a different mindset.

She took the hem of his shirt in her hands.Holding, but nothing more.

“Beyond?Will you let me undress you?”He nodded, just barely, still not meeting her eyes.That wouldn’t do.“Beyond, I need you to use your words right now.Is it okay for me to take your clothes off?”

“Yes.”His voice was tiny, but at least it was there.

“Okay.Arms up.”To her relief, he complied without protesting, lifting his arms above his head to let her pull his shirt off, only whimpering a little when the motion pulled at the wax on his arm.She folded the shirt and placed it on the counter before moving on to his jeans.“Give me paw,” she instructed, tapping his right calf.When she had his pant leg off, she repeated the command.

She hesitated at his boxers.She had seen him partially nude plenty of times since arriving at the resort, but he’d never been fully naked in front of her.Even with the situation, it still felt like a big step, though she knew it couldn’t be helped.Sighing, she tucked her thumbs under the elastic band and pulled.

She tried not to look, really she did, but even with her best efforts she couldn’t help noticing that he was... large.Larger than her previous male partners, at least.

Looking at him completely naked, her eyes were immediately drawn to his scars.

The scars that were there because of her.

He was standing here, scarred and thin and traumatized, but undeniably  _alive_ _,_ because of her, and immediately she was hit with the overwhelming truth that she would do it all again if she had to.Even more than that, she needed him to know it.Needed him to know that she cared for him unconditionally, regardless of his past, of what he’d done, because...

Because she loved him.

Fuck, she loved him.

She would have to think more on that later, but right now she needed to focus on Beyond.

“Come on.”She turned off the water, and began coaxing him into the tub.

He pulled back from the water at first, grimacing.“Hot.”

“I know it’s not what you’d choose, but the warm water will help to melt the wax so it can come off without hurting you.”She kept her voice calm and soothing as she placated him, and eventually he agreed, settling down in the warm water.

She smiled softly, running a hand through his soft hair.“See?That’s not too bad, now is it?”

Beyond shook his head, having fallen back into a nonverbal state.

“Alright, Pup,” she went to the small alcove under the sink, pulling out a washcloth, before kneeling down at the side of the tub.“Keep that arm under the water, okay?”

Beyond sank down further so that his shoulders barely peeked above the water, his knees pulling up a little.

“There’s my good boy.”She swished the washcloth through the warm water before bringing it to his face, gently washing away the now-tacky tear tracks.

He watched her closely, red eyes wide with curiosity, and she offered him a kind smile.

She scrubbed the bar soap between the ends of the washcloth, saturating it with bubbles before beginning to properly wash Beyond.His stomach was the least-burned part of his body, having been protected by both legs and arms during the fire, and to her delight he squirmed, biting back a grin, when she washed it.

“Does my puppy like tummy rubs?”She asked playfully, quirking up an eyebrow at him.

Beyond blushed up to his ears, but nodded his head, his eyes trained on the side of the tub.

“Sweet boy,” she leaned over the edge and laid a soft kiss on his forehead, and when she drew back he was smiling, just barely.His eyes kept drifting up to her before darting away, embarrassed, and she pet his hair gently in way of reassurance.

When he was clean she wrung out the washcloth and hung it over the spout, then ran her hand over the wax on his arm, pressing lightly to test how soft it had gotten.

With the help of the warm water it came away easily in her fingers, revealing reddened but unhurt skin underneath.

“There we go,” she breathed out the words, not bothering to hide her own relief at seeing him unhurt, “See?All better.”

Beyond lifted his arm slowly, head cocked slightly to the side, inspecting it.He poked at it tenderly with his opposite hand, his brows furrowing slightly at the touch, but when he looked back at her his expression was relieved and open, and she let her anxiety flood out of her in a single breath.

“Are you ready to get out of the tub, Pup?”She asked, already straightening up onto her knees.

Beyond nodded, but didn’t make to pull himself from the water, instead merely sitting there, watching her with that wide-eyed, open expression.

Naomi’s sigh was good-natured, and she leant down to lift him by his armpits, slightly relieved when he supported his own weight once he got his legs underneath him, meaning that not only was he feeling better, but that he was enjoying their little charade.

Beyond stood on the bathmat, dripping as Naomi gathered a pair of fluffy white towels from under the sink, and when she turned back he was grinning through his wet bangs, body wiggling the tiniest bit.

“Put your head down for me,” she instructed.He complied quickly, and she placed one of the towels on the edge of the tub, wrapping her hands in the other before scrubbing at his hair roughly, drawing back to the sight of it sticking up at even more unruly angles than usual.She softly ran the terry cloth over his face, drying his eyes.“My sweet boy...” she cupped his jaw, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead.

Beyond followed her as she moved back, until his forehead pressed against her shoulder, nuzzling her skin, teeth worrying at the strap of her tank top.

“Mouthy puppy,” she giggled, wrapping him tightly in a hug, one hand buried in his hair, holding him close.Still stroking his hair, she began to dry the rest of his body, only pulling away when she had to crouch to dry his legs.

Satisfied with her handiwork, she hung the wet towel on the hook on the door, then took the second and wrapped it around Beyond’s waist, remembering at the last moment to let the water out of the tub before leading Beyond out into the living room.

Once she had him sat on the couch, she went to the kitchen, pulling down a large plastic tumbler from the cupboard and filling it with cold water from the refrigerator.After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled a jar of strawberry jam from the top shelf as well.

Beyond’s gaze followed her intently in the semi-darkness as she came to sit on the off-shoot of the couch before passing him the glass of water.

“Sip slowly, or you’ll hurt your stomach.”

He nodded, holding the glass awkwardly between flat palms, his fingers curled in like paw pads, and then began to cautiously lick up the water.

“Here.”She leaned over and took the glass from his clumsy paws, holding it at an angle so he could lean forward lap at it. 

Inwardly she admonished herself for not thinking of using a bowl instead, but Beyond’s pup persona was still new, virtually untested considering he’d needed to stay alert and fully human the previous times they’d delved into the idea.The fact that he was actually taking on the roll without being forced to was honestly astonishing to her, but even more, it warmed her heart to think that he trusted her enough to do so.

When he pulled back from the glass she placed it on the coffee table, trading it for the TV remote.

Blue light filled the dark room, the television flashing on to the soft spa music accompanying the resort channel.

Naomi scrolled through the guide.Something light was in order after Beyond’s panic attack, which meant that she would have to search a bit harder than just the basic channels.

A children’s cartoon caught her eye, and she punched in the channel number. 

A group of puppies were sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows with an old prospector, and when she glanced to Beyond she saw him watching with rapt attention as the prospector began a ghost story.

Naomi smiled softly, then clicked her tongue, bringing his attention back to her.“Come here,” she settled back against the corner of the couch, patting her thigh.

Beyond seemed uncertain at first, leaning forward on all-fours across the expanse to sniff cautiously at her hand where it rested against her knee.

“Come on,” she encouraged, and slowly he came to settle his head on her thigh, his body stretched out behind him.“Good boy.”She picked the jam up from the coffee table, unscrewing the top before dipping two fingers inside and offering it to him.

Beyond raised his head, staring at her in amazement, and she wondered if he was remembering her vehement rejection of his jam in the past.When he still didn’t move to lick it, she swiped one jam-covered finger across his upper lip.

Beyond recoiled a little at the action, shaking his head as though trying to dislodge the sticky substance before he’d fully realized what had happened.Slowly, his tongue slid out, curling up to lick the jam from his lip.He wiggled a little, hips moving as though there was an invisible happy tail attached, and then practically pounced on her sticky fingers, licking up the jam with vigor.

Naomi laughed, petting him with her clean hand as she hand-fed jam to him with the other.

Once the jar was empty Beyond settled back down against her thigh, yawning with his mouth wide open, tongue curling up and out of his mouth as he nuzzled her.

“Mm, you feeling better, baby?”Naomi asked, stroking his hair slowly.

Beyond nodded silently, his eyes on the TV.

Eyes lighting with inspiration, Naomi glanced down at him, “Do any of those puppies look like you?”She asked, pointing to the screen where a German Shepherd was leaping out of a police truck.

Beyond tilted his head, watching the screen pensively.The scene changed, and he pointed at the image of the scruffy gray dog, mutated into a werewolf-like creature in the moonlight.

“You’re a little werepuppy?”Naomi asked, raising a playful eyebrow.

Beyond nodded against her thigh, still watching.

“Will I have to get you some sunflowers, then?”She asked, referring to the lore of the prospector’s story.

“Like strawb’rries better,” Beyond murmured, his voice quiet and somewhat slurred from sleepiness.

Naomi’s breath caught momentarily.It was the first words he had spoken since getting in the bath.“Okay, strawberries then,” she conceded, then wrapped her arm around his torso, pulling him even closer against her.

Once the episode was over she turned off the TV, stretching sleepily.

“Okay, Beyond, I have to go to bed now,” she said quietly, standing up from the couch.

Beyond whined, a hand reaching out to snag the hem of her top, and she turned back to look at him.

His red eyes glowed, bright as burning coals, in the dark room, wide and blinking up at her.He whined again, and she sighed.

“Beyond, I can’t spend the night on the couch,” she reasoned, “There’s not enough room for both of us to sleep comfortably.”Still he whimpered, unwilling to let her go, and she decided to try a different tactic.“Would you like to come sleep in my bed?”

She could really only see his silhouette, even that getting lost against the light of his eyes, but even so she caught the abrupt change in his posture, his body straightening into a canine sitting position before he woofed affirmatively at her.

“Okay then, come on.”

He popped off of the couch without hesitation, following her into the bedroom on all fours like it was the most natural thing in the world.

She patted the edge of the bed as she moved to the side she’d been sleeping on, surprised when he leapt up onto it easily, curling at the end of the bed to watch in the dim moonlight as she changed into her pajamas.

“You can come up here,” she promoted as she laid down, the flat sheet tossed haphazardly over her hips.

Beyond got to all-fours, crawling to her side.He stretched lazily, laying down so that his back just brushed her, though she noticed that he still positioned himself low enough that his head didn’t touch the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The show referenced is an episode of PAW Patrol called Pups and the Werepuppy


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, I hope y’all are ready for some feels, because apparently that’s just this entire chapter, so grab some tissues and enjoy.

Beyond came back to his body to an entirely foreign feeling: safety.

Not one muscle in his body was tense.The air around him was still and pleasantly warm, and he could feel the comforting weight of an arm slung over his back, holding him against a warm body.

He hummed happily as he stretched in bed before nuzzling back down against the fluffy comforter.He hadn’t had one nightmare during the night.He couldn’t even remember having any dreams.Only deep, restful sleep.

When had he last had a restful night’s sleep?Certainly not within his memory.Possibly as a young child, before his father had been killed.

Was this what puppy play was supposed to feel like afterward?This loose, happy feeling?He closed his eyes, just breathing as he took stock of his mind.

Naomi had to be a miracle worker.There was no other way for him to rationalize the ease in which she had coaxed him into the headspace of a dog.And he’d... liked it.He’d liked it a lot.

His anxiety and self-consciousness had melted away with the wax on his arm, leaving him bouncy and happy by the time he’d curled up next to Naomi on the couch.

_ She had hand-fed him jam _.She hated his jam.Or, at least, that had been his understanding.But she had hand-fed him, and pet him, and laughed, and if he hadn’t been in love before he certainly was now.__

He rolled carefully onto his back, letting his head loll to the side to look at Naomi.

She was still asleep, completely relaxed with her arm around him, the faintest hint of a smile playing at her lips.

He would have to be human today, of course.They needed to go over things from last night, and hopefully Naomi would have found more than the nothing he had, but right now she was asleep, and he could take a little longer to be nothing more than a happy puppy.

He curled up, nuzzling in against Naomi, and let his eyes fall closed once more.

—

Someone was petting him.

Holding him tightly and petting his hair.

He opened his eyes slowly, breaking out into a wide grin when he locked eyes with Naomi, her face going bright red at having been caught.

“Ah... good morning,” she whispered, beginning to draw her hands away from him before he whined, as dog-like as he could, and nosed his way back into her hold.“Beyond!”She giggled, scritching him behind an ear.

“I like your pets.”He wiggled, wishing he had a tail to wag.He pressed in further against her, trying to get as close as possible.

“Okay, okay, we can have more puppy cuddles!” Naomi wrapped her arms around him tightly, rolling so that he was lying on top of her, wagging happily in her grasp.

Being pet might have just been the best thing he’d ever experienced.Naomi’s hands were soft in all the places they needed to be, but scratched and rubbed everywhere else.She stroked his back, his neck, scratched his scalp and behind his ears, rubbed his shoulders and the backs of his thighs and was he actually thumping his back leg?

“You’re such a sweet puppy,” Naomi cooed, kissing his forehead so lightly he almost missed it, “Such a sweet, good little puppy...”

Beyond whined, the sound involuntary as a wave of indescribable emotions seemed to slam into him hard enough to take his breath away, a sob tearing from his throat as he hid his face against her chest, his paws gripping in her pajamas.

“Beyond?”One of Naomi’s hands left his body, apparently propping her up from the way her body was slanted below him suddenly.“Is something wrong?”

He just shook his head.He didn’t have any words.Did dogs even  _ have  _ words?He didn’t know.All he knew was that there were tears in his eyes and so many emotions he couldn’t even tell if they were good or bad.

“Did... did I do something wrong?”

Beyond’s head shot up, his eyes going wide.He sat back on his haunches between her legs, planting his front paws on the mattress, and shook his head roughly.No.No, no, no!He couldn’t have her feel bad!Not when she’d been nothing but wonderful to him.

“You’re sure?”She asked, sitting up properly.

Beyond whined, nodding emphatically.Seeing her still hesitate, he leaned forward and nuzzled in underneath her chin, snuffling and licking her skin until she laughed, gripping him by the shoulders.

“Okay, okay!I believe you,” holding him at arms’ length, her expression softened, “But really, what’s wrong?”

He licked his lips, trying to pull himself back out of pupspace.Human.He was human.He was... he didn’t want to be human.He shook his head roughly.Right now he needed words.

“I-“ his voice sounded rough, and he coughed to clear his throat, “I don’t... don’t know.”Naomi raised an eyebrow, and he sank further down on his haunches, brows furrowed as he racked his brain.

“Is it...” Naomi’s voice was hesitant, but when he looked up her eyes had gone wide, “It’s because I called you good, isn’t it?”

Hearing the words spoken aloud felt like having a foot slam into his lower back, and Beyond sucked in a sharp breath.His eyes stung, making him raise a hand, the fingers still curled in the shape of a paw, to try and rub the feeling away.The whole thing seemed so obvious put into words, but his throat was sticking and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak again without breaking down in sobs for the third time in twenty-four hours.

“Oh, sweetheart, come here,” Naomi patted her thigh, and he slunk gratefully back down onto her lap, burying his face in the soft fabric of her pajama top where it covered her stomach.

Her hands were on him again, one stroking his hair while the other squeezed around his ribs, holding him tightly.He closed his eyes, grounding himself against the scent of Naomi.Mostly what he could smell was the heady, sweet scent of woman, steady and achingly unfamiliar, mixed with the bite of cured leather and the light, almost floral scent of her sweet pea body wash.

“I meant it,” Naomi’s voice was lowered to a whisper, holding steady even as he heard the rough crack that she pushed away, “You’re such a good, sweet, wonderful boy.I won’t lie and tell you that you’ve never done anything bad, because you have,” Beyond’s breath caught, his paws curling tightly against the plush comforter, “You’ve done horrible, unforgivable things, and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t scare me, but... I’ve also seen you.You’re kind, and funny, and curious to a fault; I see the way your eyes light up when you talk about manga, and how happy you are when you’re around Daniel.”

Beyond sniffled, swallowing hard.He wasn’t sure how to explain to Naomi that he hadn’t been good for a very long time, to the point where he wasn’t sure if he ever truly had.He’d done everything in his power to protect A, and hadn’t bothered to stop and consider the ramifications of his actions.He didn’t  _ care _ about collateral damage where protecting his loved ones was concerned; he hadn’t cared about killing a few innocent people if it meant that the kids he’d left behind would be safe.Good people cared. _ Naomi _ cared.

His paw found the loose hem of her shorts, gripping it tightly as hot, fat tears finally began to fall.

“Shh, it’s okay... I’ve got you.”Naomi held him tightly as the tears grew, his body shaking with barely-contained sobs.Her fingers swirled patterns in his thick hair as she continued to talk, “Do you know what I can see most of all?The thing that I couldn’t even really believe at first?”He whimpered, shaking his head in response, “It’s that you’re trying.Somewhere in there, and maybe it’s really, really far down,” Beyond’s laugh was short and watery, “But somewhere in there, there’s a part of you that  wants to be a good person,” Naomi gave him a short squeeze for emphasis, “And I’ve never known you to let anything stop you from getting what you want.It won’t be easy, but I know you can do it, and if you’ll let me, I’ll be right there to help you when you need me.”

The desperate, astonished sob that tore from his throat at her words hurt, but Beyond hardly noticed as he wrapped himself up in Naomi’s embrace.He  _did_ want to be good, and her offer to be by his side while he tried made his heart ache with a level of terrified wonder that he hadn’t felt since A had passed away.


End file.
